President Peaches

Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, January 12th, 2019 - 150 comments
Categories: class war, Donald Trump, im/migration, International, us politics, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: , ,

Image result for trump as a peach

 

In a typically weird statement this morning, Donald Trump has decided the best name for his controversial border wall is, er, ‘peaches’.

“This is where I ask the Democrats to come back to Washington and vote for money for the wall, the barrier. I don’t care what they name it. They can name it peaches.”

This weird statement came as Trump was forced to backdown on his threat to try and build the barrier under a bogus state of ‘national emergency’.

Trump is losing the wall argument. Hell, the man is just losing it.

Still, …. cowboy hats!

 

 

Ah, well. There’s clearly going to be a lot of peaches/impeachment jokes going around today and one hit wonder band Presidents of the USA will thrilled at their unexpected return to relevancy.

Ah, peaches … the fruit of the loon.

 

 

150 comments on “President Peaches ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Anne 1
    12 January 2019 at 11:36 am

    This is how a 5 year old responds when they can’t get their way. They will throw something on the floor and when it breaks they say they don’t care anyway.

    He has the emotional intelligence and maturity of a five year old and he’s just demonstrated as much.

    • DJ Ward 1.1
      13 January 2019 at 12:09 pm

      5 year olds who refuse to negotiate like Pelosi.

      If you open the government then we can negotiate the wall funding. Said Pelosi.
      If I open the government will you negotiate the wall funding. Asked Trump.
      NO! Said Pelosi.
      Your wasting my time. Said Trump.

      Yes Pelosi is as childish as a 5 year old. In fact my nearly 5 year old is a better negotiator with far more integrity. Far more honest as well.

      • Anne 1.1.1
        14 January 2019 at 6:23 pm

        I feel sorry for your 5 year old having such an uneducated, uninformed and ignorant father as she/he has. 🙁

  2. arkie 2
    12 January 2019 at 11:49 am

    I object to the Presidents of the United States of America being referred to as a ‘one-hit-wonder’, they had a number of hits including the equally trump-appropriate Lump:

    Their first two commercial albums sold triple platinum and gold respectively; and their musicianship, eccentric performances and actual politics are all sullied by the association with Dolt45 and the short-fingered Vulgarians! haha

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Presidents_of_the_United_States_of_America_(band)

  3. WILD KATIPO 3
    12 January 2019 at 12:38 pm

    Peaches?

    Try Tex Mex , perhaps?

    Tex-Mex Food: A Beginner’s Guide – YouTube

  4. francesca 4
    12 January 2019 at 1:08 pm

    I’m really missing Bill, anyone know where he’s got to?

  5. Dennis Frank 5
    12 January 2019 at 1:46 pm

    Trumps is gonna get sucked into the nexus where the Christians and Greens intersect if he keeps this up. The back-to-the-land movement was three years old when John Prine wrote & sang Spanish Pipedream on his first album, alerting us to the profound effect of peaches:

    “Well, I was young and hungry and about to leave that place
    When just as I was leavin’, well she looked me in the face
    I said “You must know the answer.”
    “She said, “No but I’ll give it a try.”
    And to this very day we’ve been livin’ our way
    And here is the reason why

    We blew up our TV, threw away our paper
    Went to the country, built us a home
    Had a lot of children, fed ’em on peaches
    They all found Jesus, on their own”

  6. Macro 6
    12 January 2019 at 2:59 pm

    ‘Is this how you make America great again?’ — Sen. Jon Tester holds nothing back in his impassioned speech against Trump’s shutdown.
    Interestingly Congress approved $1.8 Billion for improved border security last year – now he wants more – but Trump has no details how it would be spent.

    Warning: The background music isn’t great – not up to” Presidents of the USA” standard anyway

    https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1083824116052963329

    • DJ Ward 6.1
      13 January 2019 at 12:24 pm

      What an idiot.

      Stoping illegal immigration is protecting the country and putting his country first. He just did some childish politics argument. Vote for the wall and open government you hypocrite.

      The money is for building the wall, they know what’s it’s being spent on so he lied as well.

      He says put these laws forward so they can reopen government. The Republicans have and the Dems won’t vote for it. The Democrates are spoiled drop kicks who demand there policy is the only policy. They are the obstruction party.

      • Macro 6.1.1
        13 January 2019 at 1:25 pm

        🙄

      • georgecom 6.1.2
        13 January 2019 at 4:06 pm

        gosh DJ, you must spend a lot of time and energy trying to defend Trump. good luck on that.

        why wasn’t the wall, um fence, er structure substantially advanced in the 2 years Republicans held the 2 houses?

        And anyway, who needs Congress to approve, Mexico is going to pay for it Trump has said

        • DJ Ward 6.1.2.1
          13 January 2019 at 5:06 pm

          The wall is being built now with funding they got in other budgets. Not surprisingly where it is built illegal crossings dramatically drop in number.

          Yes the Republicans have let the president down. A point to remember is Trump is not a Republican so many Senators didn’t support Trump, and the majority was not enough to pass legislation. Hence failure to fix Obamas disastrous health care, or get full funding for the wall.

          Trump is easy to defend because most arguments against him are stupid, or deluded, or blatantly dishonest.

          • McFlock 6.1.2.1.1
            13 January 2019 at 5:09 pm

            Why isn’t Mexico paying for the wall? Wasn’t that the promise?

            • Dennis Frank 6.1.2.1.1.1
              13 January 2019 at 9:55 pm

              Yeah, that still bugs me. Failure to explain that to the American people is one of his biggest mistakes. Bluster more than promise, apparently. Irrationality combined with a lack of political nous.

          • Macro 6.1.2.1.2
            13 January 2019 at 10:11 pm

            Bullshit!
            Do you actually believe every lie the liar in chief utters?
            Here is what is actually happening.

            Where is Trump’s border wall being built?
            If you consider the barrier projects “border walls,” here are some of the locations:

            In April, the Border Patrol began construction of a “border wall” near El Paso at Santa Teresa, N.M. During a press conference, Aaron Hull, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso sector, mostly referred to the project as the wall, sometimes calling it “fence” but quickly correcting himself. Hull said the metal barrier was the same design as others from the 2006 Secure Fence Act. The new barrier replaced existing metal posts which were designed only to block vehicles.
            In September, the Border Patrol announced construction of “a new 4-mile section of bollard wall” in the historic Chihuahuita neighborhood in El Paso. The new bollards replaced existing chain-link fencing.
            In October, border officials marked the completion of 2 miles of barriers near Calexico, Calif. Crews had replaced older metal fencing with new, 30-foot steel bollards, a project identified as a priority and funded under President Barack Obama.
            In November, Customs and Border Protection officials announced a contract for about 6 miles of “wall system” in the Rio Grande Valley. The project is supposed to include a concrete levee wall “to the height of the existing levee” with 18-foot bollards on top. That barrier is not being built yet; it’s set to be started in February.
            None of those barriers look like the wall prototypes built near San Diego, which Trump visited and praised earlier this year.
            https://www.kare11.com/article/news/nation-now/is-trumps-border-wall-being-built-here-are-the-facts/465-5fb683eb-cb5d-4e3a-9dbe-487c5525a031
            So about 6 miles of new barrier to be constructed next month

            • DJ Ward 6.1.2.1.2.1
              14 January 2019 at 10:50 am

              Your correct there is not much happening because he has only got $1.6 billion in a past budget, replacing old stuff that didn’t work etc. His version, recently approved can’t be build until he gets the funds. You can’t look at what’s being built and replaced now, with a version approved yesterday. That’s an irrational comparison.

              Amazing that the spending on the wall now was Obama policy, continued by the Trump administration. That was OK, but Trumps even better wall design is bad.

              Just over 3 weeks delay, so Dems responsible for 1000 heroine deaths so far. Soon they will get to 9/11 numbers.

              No crisis.

        • DJ Ward 6.1.2.2
          14 January 2019 at 11:32 am

          You don’t understand there system.
          Budgets etc require 60 votes. They only had 51.

          Trumps trade deal easily covers the bill. He never said how. Plus once illegal immigration is reduced, the Mexicans will have to pick up the medical bills that the US presently subsidises, cost of welfare, cost of imprisonment. Easily saving the US the cost of the wall. The Mexicans will pay for the wall one way or the other.

          The Mexicans once the US boarder is closed will have to build there own wall on there southern boarder as all the socialist nations south of them collapse causing huge economic refugee numbers.

    • Tricledrown 6.2
      13 January 2019 at 10:51 pm

      An Iron Curtain (“A Steel Wall lots of Steel, Steel workers will love it, lots of Steel I’m going to build a Steel Wall” qoute Trump the greatest Steel Wall ever of course. Chinese Street and Mexicans will no doubt build his Fence.

  7. Siobhan 7
    12 January 2019 at 3:25 pm

    Democrats taking such a moral stand by not support funding for Trumps fence

    Or Bernie’s “Health Care for All”, a variety of costs for the federal Government, but an overall cheaper spend for the country.
    https://berniesanders.com/issues/medicare-for-all/

    Or Bernies “Free Tuition”, even though The University of California system offered free tuition at its schools until the 1980s..which I’m sure plenty of Democrats benefited from.
    https://berniesanders.com/issues/its-time-to-make-college-tuition-free-and-debt-free/

    But they did like Bush’s Secure Fence Act, (with a wall estimated to cost $50 billion over 25 years, according to analyses at the time).
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Fence_Act_of_2006

    And they did like the sound of 1.2 trillion to update their Nukes https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-arsenal/u-s-nuclear-arsenal-to-cost-1-2-trillion-over-next-30-years-cbo-idUSKBN1D030E

    Bless Them.

    and their support of PayGo.

    “Meanwhile, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act triggered the Pay-Go budget rule. The Pay-Go rule requires an automatic cut in Medicare when tax cuts increase the deficit. Senate Republicans may have a hard time convincing Democrats, who opposed the tax bill, to waive the rule. Without the waiver, the tax act would force Congress to cut Medicare by $25 billion in 2018. It would cut mandatory programs by $150 billion over the next 10 years.”

    https://www.thebalance.com/government-shutdown-3305683

    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrats-pay-go-rule_us_5c2fa6bee4b073352832a24f

    • joe90 8.1
      12 January 2019 at 3:50 pm

      Double oh.

      What is the significance of all of this? I have two big takeaways.

      First, if this analysis is correct, it mostly—though not entirely—answers the question of the legal basis of the obstruction investigation. The president’s lawyers, Barr in his memo, and any number of conservative commentators have all argued that Mueller cannot reasonably be investigating obstruction offenses based on the president’s actions within his Article II powers in firing Comey; such actions, they contend, cannot possibly violate the obstruction laws. While this position is disputed, a great many other commentators, including me, have scratched their heads about Mueller’s obstruction theory.

      But if the predicate for the investigation was rooted in substantial part in counterintelligence authorities—that is, if the theory was not just that the president may have violated the criminal law but also that he acted in a fashion that may constitute a threat to national security—that particular legal puzzle goes away. After all, the FBI doesn’t need a possible criminal violation to open a national security investigation.

      The problem does not entirely go away, because as the Times reports, the probe was partly predicated as a criminal matter as well. So the question of Mueller’s criminal theory is still there. But the weight on it is dramatically less.

      This possibility, of course, raises a different legal puzzle, which is whether and under what circumstances the president can be a national security investigative subject of his own FBI given that it is ultimately he who defines national security threats for the executive branch. But that’s a question for another day.

      Second, if it is correct that the FBI’s principle interest in obstruction was not as a discrete criminal fact pattern but as a national security threat, this significantly blurs the distinction between the obstruction and collusion aspects of the investigation. In this construction, obstruction was not a problem distinct from collusion, as has been generally imagined. Rather, in this construction, obstruction was the collusion, or least part of it. The obstruction of justice statutes become, in this understanding, merely one set of statutes investigators might think about using to deal with a national security risk—specifically, the risk of a person on the U.S. side coordinating with or supporting Russian activity by shutting down the investigation.

      It was about Russia. It was always about Russia. Full stop.

      https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-if-obstruction-was-collusion-new-york-timess-latest-bombshell

      • francesca 8.1.1
        12 January 2019 at 5:17 pm

        Kind of like a tautology.
        or strangulated thinking.
        The collusion’s there or its not , the investigation has legs in terms of finding collusion or not.
        Shutting it down is only collusion if there’s been collusion to cover up.Prove collusion first
        A wild goose chase that the NYT has gone half cocked on many times

        https://www.rt.com/usa/448427-manafort-russia-collusion-polling/

        And as for Russian meddling Bradbury over at the Daily Blog links to a Nation article

        https://www.thenation.com/article/russiagate-elections-interference/

        But I guess the Russiagate industry is keeping a fair few hacks in clover.

        • francesca 8.1.2.1
          12 January 2019 at 6:39 pm

          We’re all ears

          • Macro 8.1.2.1.1
            12 January 2019 at 7:30 pm

            Well I’ve been positively vetted to Top Secret NZ Eyes Only level, and they haven’t told me. So they sure as hell aren’t going to tell you.
            Hint: read the words at the bottom of the tweet which say

            they must have had other incriminating information that we don’t yet know about.

            my bold
            Mind you, RT might have some info on it . In fact I’m sure they will have something to say. Whether we can believe it, however is another matter.

            • francesca 8.1.2.1.1.1
              12 January 2019 at 8:01 pm

              Them dastardly not cricket type Russkies are such devillish hackers I’m sure they know all about it
              RT reporting that the NYT issued a correction,( not Deripaska after all but a couple of Ukrainian oligarchs) is just more of the filthy Russian disinformation , why they probably manipulated the NYT in to publishing the fake news in the first place, with some of their skilfully placed puppy ads
              I look forward to the next NYT Bombshell,….and their sheepish retraction

            • weston 8.1.2.1.1.2
              12 January 2019 at 8:26 pm

              Lol we dont often get people on here skiting about their security clearances !!Odd that you have them Macro cause if you are fascinated by the russian collusion conspiracy theory you,d probably believe anything !!RT or Lamestream ?think i,ll go with RT more interesting more informative even on a bad day imo

              • Macro …
                12 January 2019 at 9:10 pm

                As Granny used to say “if you’ve got it – flaunt it!”
                Each to his own. I won’t criticise your reading of RT – if you don’t try to promulgate it here.

          • North 8.1.2.1.2
            13 January 2019 at 8:19 am

            I too am all ears Francesca. Unlike yours mine are not ‘painted-on’. I recommend Bay Audiology. And Specsavers.

        • DJ Ward 8.1.2.2
          13 January 2019 at 12:43 pm

          He sacked Comey, a Democrate stooge. The other Dem stooges in the FBI went on the offensive.
          He had a meeting with the Russian Ambassador and shared info about Syria. Something he is entitled to do as president. Russia, and the US were cooperating to a small extent on ISIS at the time.
          He asked publicly for the Russians to find Clintons Emails. Something the FBI with Comey were too corrupt to do.
          The Democrates were funding Russian bots, that looked like Russia was supporting Republicans and Trump, but it was Americans funded by Democrates pretending to be Russians.

          They have nothing, never had anything, never will have anything.

          • joe90 8.1.2.2.1
            13 January 2019 at 12:55 pm

            They have nothing, never had anything, never will have anything.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAdGYYsG7yc

            This is the wrong way to think about the entire issue. It helps instead to consider Trump not as a “recruit,” but as an investment. It is ridiculous to believe the Russians had a crystal ball, or a psychic who shook hands with Trump, like Johnny in The Dead Zone, and saw a future president. Rather, they took an interest in a wealthy American businessman with contacts throughout New York’s financial and political worlds. Indeed, as Chait notes, if the Russians hadn’t zeroed in on Trump—a man whose venality, vanity and vulgarity are like a menu of recruitable weaknesses—they’d have been guilty of intelligence malpractice.

            That’s why Chait’s article is worth a careful reading: He has laid out the mind-numbing history and facts of Trump’s dealings with Russia in one place. From Trump’s first meetings with the Soviets (which apparently convinced him that he should become a voice on international security and nuclear affairs) to his numerous dealings with the world of Russian finance, to his jaw-dropping hire of Paul Manafort, a man whose résumé includes work aimed at keeping a Putin crony in power in Ukraine, the litany of direct and indirect contacts with the Kremlin exceeds all possible exculpatory explanations. Trump’s defenders over the past few years have gotten a lot of mileage by isolating each of these facts and treating them as insignificant. Chait, however, has gathered them together, and the picture they present is alarming, much in the way a lot of small debts don’t look like financial ruin until you write them down and tally them up.

            https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/07/10/trump-russia-jonathan-chait-218966

            From an intelligence standpoint, the numerous Russian approaches to the Trump campaign look like a textbook recruitment effort. Campaign officials were an attractive target for Russian intelligence, of course. They provided a chance to catapult Russian influence into the Oval Office, and to obtain the Holy Grail: to manipulate a sitting presidential administration to act in a way that is favorable to Russia. (And even if their candidate did not make it into the White House, they would have a grip on him and some of his most powerful associates for years to come.)

            But this ambitious goal would not have been foreseeable at the beginning of Russia’s operation. After all, Trump and many of his associates were already on Russia’s radar screen well before he was running for president. This isn’t because Russian intelligence services are geniuses who maneuvered a grand scheme into place. Rather, it is because Russia’s intelligence services, like all intelligence services, are always on the lookout for new assets to add to their toolbox that could be useful in the future. An obvious target would be a wealthy business person interested in working on projects in Russia, or places like Ukraine, or benefiting from Russian investments. By the time a pie-in-the-sky opportunity like a presidential election came along, much of the groundwork for further outreach would already be in place.

            https://www.justsecurity.org/49682/collusion-criminal-threat/

            • DJ Ward 8.1.2.2.1.1
              13 January 2019 at 1:25 pm

              What was the point of that video?
              I get it “says who”

              The left creating a deluded narrative.

              Trump is down in the polls, makes some changes with staff. Why do that?

              Yep the (no supprise it’s CNN) interviewer is an idiot.

              What Nations is a US person committing a crime, if they talk with a person from that nation. Or hire a person who once worked with that nation. Didn’t the FBI, CIA fail in its screening obligations with Manafort. Is Trump required to do indepth background checks on thousands of staff himself.
              Let’s arrest everyone working for NASA. They work with, exchange information, with nuke capable rockets, and Russia. Where do you draw the line.

              Can I have some evidence on Trump.

              Waiting, waiting, still waiting. Thousands of Fake News bullshit, end of the world rubbish. Waiting, still waiting.

              • North …
                13 January 2019 at 2:05 pm

                I suspect you know jack shit about the US Constitution and US constitutional governance, Donald J. Ward. That is usually the case with those who rant as histrionically as you.

                For ‘Founding Fathers’ Trump reads ‘Funding Fathers’. It is that which in the end will destroy his presidency and any hope of an honourable legacy. Mammon. Get used to it.

                • DJ Ward …
                  13 January 2019 at 3:22 pm

                  Funding who.
                  Evidence please.

                  Destroy the Presidency? That’s not rational. In 2024 there will be a new president.

                  • North …
                    14 January 2019 at 4:35 pm

                    DJ.W you seem quite as illiterate as Trump. The term “his presidency” is a reference based in subjectivity, viz. Trump’s incumbency. Quite a different quantity from “the Presidency”……an objective reference to the institution irrespective of incumbency. Of course you’d know that if you knew anything about the Constitution. Imagine that……an angrily puffed-up Deplorable questioning the rationality of others. Phew !

                    As to your trouble with “Founding/Funding Fathers”. Ho ho ho ! Humourless git.

                    • DJ Ward …
                      14 January 2019 at 8:16 pm

                      I knew what you were trying to say about the Presidency. But you made a cliam that is clearly bullshit. So you got contempt in response. You didn’t answer the question.

                      You just went all TDS fact checking and resorting to technical arguments, plus some cliam I don’t know things, or that you are the go to source of Knowledge.

                      Since you know everything.

                      Can you explain what your lame Funding Fathers joke was about. I don’t get it.

    • joe90 8.2
      13 January 2019 at 5:41 pm

      If someone asks if you if you’re working for a foreign power you say No!, not I’m so insulted!.

      https://twitter.com/JudgeJeanine/status/1084281902566178817

      • DJ Ward 8.2.1
        14 January 2019 at 10:25 am

        Why can’t he say he’s insulted. Wouldn’t you if you have said no on countless occasions in many different ways. That’s TDS. Your creating a new argument out of nothing. Interpreting things to suit your deluded opinion of the subject.

        This is just diverting attention from the immoral behavour of the Dems shutting down government and refusing to negotiate.

        The article is regurgitated stuff that’s already mentioned 100s of times. Nothing was new, or news. Just a corrupt political act of collusion by the media. Like the majicaly use of the term “manufactured crisis” in unison across all MSM networks at the same time.

  9. SHG 9
    12 January 2019 at 7:35 pm

    In the classic 1980 book “Metaphors We Live By,” George Lakoff and Mark Johnson argued that thought and language really are linked on a fundamental level. “Metaphors as linguistic expressions are possible precisely because there are metaphors in a person’s conceptual system,” the authors wrote.

    The passage of a buck, in other words, is not just an old saying but a concept of responsibility, which can be accepted or passed on from one official to another, but must ultimately land somewhere.

    What then does it mean when Trump says the buck is everywhere?

    Nothing good, says Lakoff, a cognitive scientist and linguist who, nearly 40 years after his book was published, argues that Trump literally tries to “change your brain” by twisting language.

    “This is not mangling anything; this is taking ordinary linguistic uses and changing them,” Lakoff told The Washington Post. “What he’s saying is it’s up to you to pay for the border wall. The shutdown is your responsibility.”

    “And what’s most scary is he’s very, very clever,” he continues. “People think he’s just a 5-year-old, and he’s not. That’s his strength. They don’t understand what he’s doing is changing the way a lot of people think.”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/president-trump-is-where-metaphors-go-to-die/2019/01/11/f1ff1644-1522-11e9-90a8-136fa44b80ba_story.html?utm_term=.dd614c8996df

    • Dennis Frank 9.1
      12 January 2019 at 9:56 pm

      Yes, that was an important book. Trump’s use of metaphor may only work on his target audience though. Not sure I agree with Lakoff’s evaluation of Trump’s cleverness. But it raises the question of the reason for the govt shutdown.

      Is the cost saving his primary reason? Not trying to shame the Democrats, I mean. So he can say in a couple of weeks “Hey, the shut-down has now saved us the cost of the wall. So now the Democrats can no longer argue that it costs too much. We got the money. By going along with the shut-down, and refusing to pay for the wall, the Democrats have made this fundraising exercise successful.” That would indeed be clever.

  10. Graeme 10
    12 January 2019 at 10:16 pm

    What a bizarre word to use an immigration context.

    I doubt there’s a peach produced in USA that hasn’t had a Mexican hand, or several, and probably un-documented, on it somewhere in process.

    • DJ Ward 10.1
      13 January 2019 at 12:33 pm

      Maybe they are one of the million IRS numbers stolen and used by illegals last year. So not undocumented, just fraudulently documented.

  11. OnceWasTim 11
    13 January 2019 at 8:58 am

    Anyone else seen the ‘Trump in Lyttleton 2019 Calendar” by 55Design?
    Maybe December will be the month

  12. DJ Ward 12
    13 January 2019 at 1:29 pm

    Anyone that thinks Trump Called his wall expansion Peaches didn’t listen in true TDS fashion. The point is it’s OK when the hypocrite Dems voted for a Barrier, some of which is near identicle to the Boarder security accepted design that Trump wants to build. Some of what the incompetent Dems built is a pathetic fence that stops nothing. So if it’s called a wall it’s wrong, but a barrier is OK, fence is OK, so if the Fruit Loop Democrates need to call the wall Peaches, so be it.

    Trump talks in context. Examination of every word like its from God is childish. Plus he likes taking the piss, and separating context from his rough humour requires intelligence. Something some people can’t accomplish. Like 100% of CNN.

  13. North 13
    13 January 2019 at 1:40 pm

    Donald J. Ward……I see that your pejorative comment unkindly likening Nancy Pelosi’s behaviour to that of your 5 year old has been deleted. Guess that means you’ve reconsidered and now would NOT recommend Trump as the ideal role model for young’un ? Well done to you/the adult in the room !

    • DJ Ward 13.1
      13 January 2019 at 1:53 pm

      Not deleted. If promoting hard working, non drinking, non smoking, law abiding, high achieving people like Trump is a bad thing for my kids then I can’t imagine what a good thing would be. Actually they have a good example with there mother, so they will be fine.

      To make sure they are safe from lunacy, I only watch CNN after they go to bed.

      • North 13.1.1
        13 January 2019 at 2:14 pm

        Oh……(gulp)……he IS your preferred role model then……you wouldn’t be a religious-right wacko would ya ?

        • DJ Ward 13.1.1.1
          13 January 2019 at 3:30 pm

          You wouldn’t rely on TDS based bigoted steriotyping would you.
          Trumps not religous, and for American standards he’s more in the middle rather than right wing. He was a Democrate. I doubt you even understand what right wing is.

          Here’s some.
          Have you ever worked in a real job.

  14. joe90 14
    13 January 2019 at 2:23 pm

    Walk on, nothing to see here.
    //

    President Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal details of his conversations with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin, including on at least one occasion taking possession of the notes of his own interpreter and instructing the linguist not to discuss what had transpired with other administration officials, current and former U.S. officials said.
    Trump did so after a meeting with Putin in 2017 in Hamburg that was also attended by then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. U.S. officials learned of Trump’s actions when a White House adviser and a senior State Department official sought information from the interpreter beyond a readout shared by Tillerson.
    The constraints that Trump imposed are part of a broader pattern by the president of shielding his communications with Putin from public scrutiny and preventing even high-ranking officials in his own administration from fully knowing what he has told one of the United States’ main adversaries.
    As a result, U.S. officials said there is no detailed record, even in classified files, of Trump’s face-to-face interactions with the Russian leader at five locations over the past two years. Such a gap would be unusual in any presidency, let alone one that Russia sought to install through what U.S. intelligence agencies have described as an unprecedented campaign of election interference.

    http://archive.li/SY8qM

    • DJ Ward 14.1
      13 January 2019 at 3:37 pm

      What if that information involved military plans that needed to be kept secret.
      How many secret private meetings did Obama, or Claire Curren have.

      It’s called off the record. Happens all the time. So bit of TDS making a song and dance about nothing.

      Why is it a requirement that Russia be an enemy. Is it against the rules for Trump wanting to improve relations. Or would you prefer them to be at war.

      Would Puten agree to talk if the conversation was recorded? Answer no.

      • joe90 14.1.1
        13 January 2019 at 3:49 pm

        Elected official don’t have private meetings.

        • Macro 14.1.1.1
          13 January 2019 at 4:04 pm

          Exactly. That’s why Claire Curren is no long Minister of Broadcasting.

          • DJ Ward 14.1.1.1.1
            13 January 2019 at 5:30 pm

            She held a ministerial meeting in secret. She secretly met a journalist.

            The ministers Diary is public but the content of the meeting with the Journalist is off the record. She hid that meeting.
            She was required to take minutes of the ministerial meeting but didn’t.

            Trump is not required to meet or not meet anybody with permission from others, or record any meeting.

            Obama recorded media interviews etc, but like everyone since Nixon there is no general recording of the presidents conversations.

            Was the meeting with North Korea recorded?
            Was Obama and Putin recorded?
            Was Clinton organising a massive donation from her uranium loving Russian freinds recorded? Probably one of the emails she deleted, sorry smashed to bits with a hammer.

            The hypocracy of the left on transparency.

            You have to allow leaders to discuss things off the record. Plus it happens all the time.

            • Draco T Bastard 14.1.1.1.1.1
              13 January 2019 at 6:05 pm

              but like everyone since Nixon there is no general recording of the presidents conversations.

              You did notice that Trump told his interpreter not to record anything?

              The default position is that the meetings are recorded.

              And they need to be so that none of the participants can say that something happened that didn’t nor vice versa.

              It also allows the people to hold their representatives to account.

              Recording is essential.

            • joe90 14.1.1.1.1.2
              13 January 2019 at 7:01 pm

              The Presidential Records Act of 1978 requires all Presidential records to be archived as public property and an incumbent can only dispose of current records with the permission of the chief archivist.

              Because tRump took the notes from his translators there are no records, not even classified ones, of what Trump and Putin discussed, and some of Trump’s advisors are in the dark.

              What is Trump hiding?

              • DJ Ward …
                14 January 2019 at 8:01 am

                He’s hiding nothing. He said yesterday that he doesn’t care if the conversation is released.
                He stated the conversation with Putin was about Israel security.

        • Draco T Bastard 14.1.1.2
          13 January 2019 at 4:11 pm

          Exactly. Every meeting they have should be recorded and stored. There may be some justification for some to be held back for security purposes but, IMO, most meetings should pretty much be available live.

          • Macro 14.1.1.2.1
            13 January 2019 at 4:31 pm

            Yes. Even if it is classified – it is still recorded, filed, keep locked up (and referred to as required), until such time as it is declassified – which may be up to 30+ years later.

            • DJ Ward 14.1.1.2.1.1
              13 January 2019 at 5:34 pm

              No they are not. Obama did not record anything discussed in private. Nixon was the last President to do that creating 3400 hours of recordings. Trump vs Comey is the example.

    • francesca 14.2
      14 January 2019 at 8:32 am

      Joe90 on secret meetings with Putin

      So Tillerson was in on it all ?
      And after being fired remains a secret Russian stooge and loyal to Trump
      Get away with you Joe

      “President Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal details of his conversations with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin, including on at least one occasion taking possession of the notes of his own interpreter and instructing the linguist not to discuss what had transpired with other administration officials, current and former U.S. officials said.”
      The rest of the story largely refutes the claim made in its headline and very first sentence:

      “Trump did so after a meeting with Putin in 2017 in Hamburg that was also attended by then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
      …
      Trump generally has allowed aides to listen to his phone conversations with Putin ..
      …
      In an email, Tillerson said that he “was present for the entirety of the two presidents’ official bilateral meeting in Hamburg,”…”

      And of course Obama went to lengths to communicate privately to the Russian President when he thought the mike was off

      https://www.wsj.com/video/obama-medvedev-hot-mic-gaffe/5F7CF09D-CFD5-4805-A72C-3378D5F8371E.html

      • joe90 14.2.1
        14 January 2019 at 1:27 pm

        The second meeting, sans officials.

        But Trump and Putin then met for two hours in private, accompanied only by their interpreters. Trump’s interpreter, Marina Gross, could be seen emerging from the meeting with pages of notes.

        • francesca 14.2.1.1
          14 January 2019 at 6:43 pm

          wonder what they talked about
          “Send more arms to Ukraine would you Trumpy
          We could do with some more sanctions, and if some time in the future you could withdraw from that silly old nuclear weapons treaty that would be great, and I really love it when Haley gets in to us at the UN, more of that please.
          Actually, if you could see your way clear to expel a lot of diplomats, and close down some diplomatic facilities, that would really improve my status in the world
          Thanks Darl, you’re a honey”

  15. Andre 15
    13 January 2019 at 6:02 pm

    Just in case all this gets anyone excited about an upcoming ‘peachment, here’s a worthwhile read about Tricky Dicky’s.

    https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/01/12/donald-trump-impeachment-democrats-nancy-pelosi-tip-oneill-223966

    Remember the Dems had 56 senators then, they’ve only got 47 now. Even if the House passes articles of impeachment, the Turtle might decided he’s just not that bovvered about it all and refuse to put it on the senate order of business.

    • Macro 15.1
      13 January 2019 at 9:26 pm

      I’ve watched this clip a couple of times and I can’t believe the fact that the Repugnants still allow him to occupy the WH. Ok these are edited clips of much longer rants, but the impression is that he is mentally unstable if not senile. They owe it not only to themselves – but also to the country to remove him from office.
      Did you know the tRump is a professional technologist (whatever that is). He noted that all cars have got wheels and they are older than walls therefore a wall is necessary. Because the people coming across the border have got amazing vehicles – so fast – faster than anything the US has, and they drive into the desert, and turn left, usually its a left but sometimes they turn right.
      I mean – I actually feel sorry for the guy – he is way in over his head, and really he is struggling. He needs to go for his own sake as much as everyone else’s.

      • DJ Ward 15.1.1
        14 January 2019 at 9:23 am

        Sack the Dem idiots. They are saying walls don’t work. His point was wheels are a primitive tech. We still use them because they work. We still build walls because they work. We still use wheels because they are the only option, like walls. Like the walls around Pelosi’s home.

        The Dems they send Acosta to the wall. Proving they work.

        Diagnoses TDS.

        Trumps not over his head. He’s dealing with an intellectually corrupt opposition and media. He is also dealing with a humanitarian crisis so must as President act to protect the boarder.

        Trump is offering deals to get this one off payment. The Dems are refusing to negotiate. They asked for the government to be opened, then negotiate the wall. They then said if Trump opened the government without the wall, they would not negotiate the wall seperatly.

        How does Trump negotiate with people who are not trustworthy.

        You linked to comedy. Which is perfect because it’s what I think of your opinion.
        Yes edited clips. I watched the original wheel comment live, so no rant. Taken out of context, for comedy. Obviously you don’t get it.

        • Macro 15.1.1.1
          14 January 2019 at 11:26 am

          The walls of Jericho – fell down

          The walls of Troy – easily breached by a Trojan Horse

          The walls of Jerusalem – Temple sacked in 70 CE
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(70_CE)

          Hadrian’s wall – complete failure
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian%27s_Wall

          Walled cities – all susceptible to siege and the use of biological warfare.
          https://contagions.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/plague-at-the-siege-of-caffa-1346/

          more recently
          The Berlin Wall – lasted 10,316 days.

          Yeah Walls are so successful
          Trump knows noting of history and he is determined to repeat it.

          • veutoviper 15.1.1.1.1
            14 January 2019 at 11:50 am

            Wonderful summary!

            Unfortunately I think that DJW is well past reasoning with. Good on you for trying though.

          • DJ Ward 15.1.1.1.2
            14 January 2019 at 1:31 pm

            Wow.

            A wall was attacked by an army. Did they just walk in or did they need to siege the wall. Does the illegal immigrant just walk through the wall or do they have to do something else.

            Hadrains wall didn’t fail. The rest of the Roman Empire failed and they withdrew from Britain.

            The Trojan horse went through a gate. Not a wall. The wall worked as the invading force couldn’t get in, due to its walls. The wall worked. Completely dishonest argument Macro.

            The Berlin Wall worked. Only small numbers got over the wall, just as Trump and boarder security says it lowers numbers by more than 90%. Trumps version is better than current versions so it should be lower numbers of illegal immigrants. The Berlin Wall came down due to the Russian collapse, and loss of control of its puppets. Up until then it worked well for its designed purpose.

            Are the Mexicans going to siege the boarder wall. Sounds like a National security crisis. Bring on emergency powers.

            Pelosi’s wall around her house works well.

            • McFlock 15.1.1.1.2.1
              14 January 2019 at 7:39 pm

              You do realise that the actual bad people already use tunnels under the US-Mex border for their trafficking, right? And that rope and 30-foot ladders are a thing? Just like they were in seige warfare of old?

              • DJ Ward …
                14 January 2019 at 8:45 pm

                Yes McFlock. They also use small submarines, fly with false documents, overstay, etc etc.
                The wall is not a perfect solution. Trump openly admits that. But the evidence is undeniable that where there is a wall illegal crossings drop by at least 90%. A 90% drop from 400,000 is a lot.
                If a person seeks legitimate asylum they can go to a controlled boarder crossing. It’s the people with no legitimate, legal reason for entering the US that the wall stops.

                The best solution is immigration law reform but the Dems being obstructionists would never let that happen. If they did a broad legalising reset of illegals in the US then made it law to immediately deport any new illegal immigrant the issue would greatly reduce.

                • McFlock …
                  14 January 2019 at 9:55 pm

                  lol you really think a border wall will cut illegal immigration by 90%?
                  lol

                  • DJ Ward …
                    14 January 2019 at 11:52 pm

                    That’s not what I said.
                    I said the wall stops 90% plus of crossings compared to not having a wall. Thumps wall is move difficult to climb compared to the present versions.

                    The illegals will shift to the ever shrinking unwalled area. So will the boarder guards. A 90% drop in crossing plus the new technology requires less staff. They can concentrate more on the ever smaller unwalled area until they can’t get through.

                    Then your tunnels etc, etc.
                    In any war, evolution of offence and defence exists.

                    But the result is financial.

                    https://cis.org/Report/Cost-Border-Wall-vs-Cost-Illegal-Immigration

                    So if 200,000 over 10 years pays for the wall.
                    Trump only has to reduce numbers by 20,000 a year.

                    Why don’t you ask them all to come to NZ.

                    • McFlock …
                      15 January 2019 at 12:12 am

                      lol typical tory math: you’re not intending to do any maintenance on it for a decade? Not intending to staff it at all?

                      And yeah, I wouldn’t mind 20k people willing to walk a thousand miles to get here. We can take that off the bankers and 12-day “permanent residents” encouraged over the past decade. Get someone genuinely prepared to work for a living.

                    • DJ Ward …
                      15 January 2019 at 1:04 am

                      How is Tory maths any different from everybody else’s math. I havent read any reasonable counters to that figure. I’ve even read the lefty fact checking sites on it an the other studies figures. I have seen a lower figure just above $60,000.

                      Yes you need to pay for those things as well. But what would be the cost if you spent nothing and allowed anybody in. Like Trump said Mexico is not sending there best.
                      The issue with immigration is, as NZ has found out, you can have quite high immigration, but this needs to match the creation of infastructure and housing. The average immigrant should be at least fiscally nuetral otherwise it multiplies the harm. Lack of infastructure plus lack of housing plus reduction of government spending options. The result of not getting the balance right is increased poverty etc.
                      If your a capitalist landlord it sounds fantastic. House prices rise, rents rise, and all the poor countries stay poor. The educated and semi educated leave to other nations like NZ leaving the poor nation struggling. Unless your an illegal immigrant going to the US. That could be anybody.

                      The population increases, GDP increases, but the per person GDP reduces. IE average income trends lower than inflation. The mean income drops as the immigrants are more likely to be low income.

                      The new Dems maths stops at Free Stuff. I’m still trying to find out how that works.

                    • McFlock …
                      15 January 2019 at 12:59 pm

                      The first problem with your calculation is that you present the upfront costs of the wall and compare it to the lifetime “costs” of an immigrant.

                      The second problem is that you compare tax revenue directly from immigrants with their costs to the taxpayer. Including detention when they finally get caught. They’re evading law enforcement. Many of them would work for cash.

                      Which leads to the third problem, that in the US many illegal immigrants might not pay tax, but they sure as shit keep a number of industries operating. Generally all the hard and gross work, like agricultural labouring or slaughterhouses or hospitality. Those industries do pay tax, millions of dollars of it. Many of those businesses would not exist without cheaper labour. Whether those businesses should exist if they need cheap labour to survive is another matter – the fact is that the benefit of immigrants to the economy is more than the tax they pay directly.

                      But no, you go ahead and compared juked lifetime costs of immigration against a very rough estimate of the upfront cost of building a wall – because it’ll be shoddily made by contractors, poorly engineered, easily breached, and there will be ticket clipping all along the way. It’s not just a bad idea in theory, it’s being spearheaded by a guy who couldn’t even run a profitable casino. It will be a case study in poor implementation.

            • Sabine 15.1.1.1.2.2
              14 January 2019 at 8:49 pm

              Quote” The Berlin Wall worked. Only small numbers got over the wall, just as Trump and boarder security says it lowers numbers by more than 90%. ”

              I am pleased that you admit that the tactic of the Eastern German regime to lock up one half of the german population behind walls, fences, no mans land, mine strips, watch towers, armed men and self shooting system managed to keep its populace and keep them locked up worked.

              so what you are saying is that the sthitstain does not want to keep the southern americans out, but rather that he is trying to lock up the US American population. You know what, i agree with you on that one. Go Figure.

              as for your idea that ‘only small numbers’ got over the wall, let me assure you that no ‘numbers’ got over the wall, only people did. And people died.
              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall#Defection_attempts

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_attempts_and_victims_of_the_inner_German_border

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Peter_Fechter

              • DJ Ward …
                14 January 2019 at 9:27 pm

                Regions of Birth of present illegal residents.
                Mexico and Central America 7,593,000 67%
                Caribbean 351,000 3%
                South America 685,000 6%
                Europe/Canada/Oceania 579,000 5%
                Asia 1,774,000 16%
                Africa 318,000 3%

                So it’s a global assault on the boarder.

                I don’t think anybody in the US other than TDS celebrities want to leave the US. Oops they lied, backtracked, and looked stupid.

                I also have watched a few videos on point to the nation on the world map videos. Some don’t even know where the US is. How could they possibly escape.

            • Jenny - How to get there? 15.1.1.1.2.3
              15 January 2019 at 6:46 am

              Wow?

              Really?

              Does the illegal immigrant just walk through the wall or do they have to do something else. DJ Ward

              Something else

          • Dennis Frank 15.1.1.1.3
            14 January 2019 at 8:51 pm

            Two sides to every story: “Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the number of border walls between nations has more than quadrupled. According to Elisabeth Valet, a researcher at the University of Quebec, there are more than 65 walls currently standing or under construction.” http://hir.harvard.edu/article/?a=14542

            “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised Trump’s idea for a wall as a “great idea” and a “great success,” claiming on Twitter that his own wall “has stopped all illegal immigration.” While Israel’s wall has definitely not stopped all illegal immigration, it has assisted in cutting it down significantly. According to statistics published by Israel’s Ministry of the Interior, 17,000 African immigrants entered the state illegally in 2011. However, in 2013, after the completion of the wall, the number fell to a mere 43.”

            Btw, better to see me as devil’s advocate on this issue, than someone who wants walls. Some walls are better than others: “Egypt has also erected a massive steel barricade with Gaza. Unlike the Israeli wall, which is more of a fence, the Egyptian barrier is definitely a wall; the barrier is made of bombproof, super strength steel which cannot be cut or melted, and extends an astounding 20 meters underground. In fact, the Egyptian wall is one of the few that can be delineated from space.”

            “Moving even farther west from Egypt, one runs into the border fence of Spain—a 7-mile steel structure that blocks immigration from Morocco. In 2014, 2,100 immigrants successfully crossed from Morocco into Spain, but the fence reduced this number substantially to approximately 100 in 2015.”

            • Macro 15.1.1.1.3.1
              14 January 2019 at 9:41 pm

              Trump is talking 2000 miles of wall not 7 miles or even a 100. There is already an existing fence that is around 700 miles in length. Overseeing the border are drones, surveillance cameras, constant patrols and barriers. Persons attempting to enter the US illegally by simply crossing the southern border are far fewer than what Trump or DJW here alleging. The largest number of illegal immigrants actually enter the US legally on short term visas and then out stay their visa. Even so, the numbers of overstayers has been dropping in recent years.

              When it comes to people in the country without proper documentation, the majority of them didn’t cross the Mexican border at all. Most of them came to the United States legally — but then don’t leave.

              About 700,000 travelers to the United States overstayed their visas in fiscal 2017, the most recent year for which the Department of Homeland Security has published figures. DHS estimated that, as of Sept. 30, 2017, the end of that fiscal year, more than 600,000 of those travelers were still in the U.S.

              During that same year, there were just 300,000 apprehensions along the Southern border, according to Customs and Border Protection

              https://www.npr.org/2019/01/10/683662691/where-does-illegal-immigration-mostly-occur-heres-what-the-data-tell-us

              • DJ Ward …
                15 January 2019 at 12:25 am

                So how is that 300,000 acceptable?
                You didn’t explain that.

                So if the numbers can be reduced so easily as in the Israeli example, and all the other walls it must be a good idea.

                Trump has an obligation to stop illegal immigration.
                It’s illegal.

                Here’s some Democrat hypocracy, and idiocy.

                Trump we want you to not act against crimes, illegal acts, and stoping our drugs. We need them. They’re foreigners and want to secretly cross the boarder and help us in the elections. Please don’t act with integrity. Your the President. Don’t bring shame on your Presidency. Obama was a great President, follow his example. Seperate children from parents, send ICE to get everybody, ang get funding for more walls and boarder security. Oh , ah, shit.

        • North 15.1.1.2
          14 January 2019 at 1:02 pm

          Donald J. Ward engaging the weirdest projection.

          • DJ Ward 15.1.1.2.1
            14 January 2019 at 1:34 pm

            After endless hours of watching fake news I’m not supprised you are finding things like reality and the truth so weird.

  16. ken 16
    13 January 2019 at 6:22 pm

    Build the wall, stop Mexicans crossing the border…….then try and work out who is going to pick all the fruit and veggies, and do the housewotk for below minimum wage.

    • DJ Ward 16.2
      14 January 2019 at 9:54 am

      He has stated he is willing to create work visa deals for farmers or similar. He has no problem with temporary immigration for worker shortages. He just wants it legal. Similar to our NZ examples.

      • ken 16.2.1
        14 January 2019 at 12:38 pm

        The problem is that farmers will have to pay legal immigrants legal wages.

        • DJ Ward 16.2.2.1
          14 January 2019 at 6:09 pm

          Please read, or have evidence Sabine before making defamatory statements.

          Firstly the workers were being paid.
          The workers were themselves knowingly working illegally.
          They are clearly anti Trump.

          But the most important thing. You must have missed this bit.

          “She and Diaz alleged supervisors at the club helped them evade authorities to keep their jobs. But there is no evidence that Trump or executives at the Trump Organization knew about this.”

          So since they are illegal, and it’s the Trump Organisation policy not to hire illegal workers how does this work?
          Since they are trying to get citizenship, do they have any motive to lie about how they got, and illegally used documents to work. A crime.

          No, not me officer, honest.

          It was the supervisor, who has no motive.

          • Sabine 16.2.2.1.1
            14 January 2019 at 7:58 pm

            .

            you still have issues with taking responsibility for once actions? Blame someone else for everything you do?

            • DJ Ward 16.2.2.1.1.1
              14 January 2019 at 9:01 pm

              They entered the country illegally. They knowingly broke the law. Nobody else. I assure you, I was not involved.

              It’s possible the superviser is part of an illegal immigrant worker syndicate but they never suggested they were paying the supervisor a fee. Without the kickback I can’t see what the motive for the superviser is. So there story doesn’t add up.

    • Sabine 16.3
      14 January 2019 at 1:34 pm

      i can’t wait for the white working male and his wife – you know those with economic anxiety – to be forced to take up fruit picking jobs elsewhere or else loose their food stamps, medical care etc etc etc.

      Can’t wait for it.

      Cause you see they could already do so now if they need jobs, but they don’t cause that is not the jobs they want.

      • DJ Ward 16.3.1
        14 January 2019 at 1:36 pm

        Trump is doing so goodly at creating jobs for the working class, his voting base that they no longer need food stamps. They have jobs now.

        • arkie 16.3.1.1
          14 January 2019 at 1:40 pm

          Even with jobs they still need assistance:

          SNAP (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) helps millions of Americans put food on the table each month. While two-thirds of participants are children, elderly, and people with disabilities, who are not expected to work, SNAP also helps workers, both to supplement low wages and support them when they are between jobs.

          https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/most-working-age-snap-participants-work-but-often-in-unstable-jobs

        • Sabine 16.3.1.2
          14 January 2019 at 7:58 pm

          got any links to support your claims or are you just pulling these out of the long drop?

        • Morrissey 16.3.1.3
          15 January 2019 at 6:37 pm

          Te Reo, I know we’re not supposed to call this fellow stupid or anything like that. But what CAN we do with him? He’s a vexatious and irritating presence on this board, contributing nothing but bizarre untruths.

          It’s like he’s the product of some horrific union between Donald J Trump and Theresa May.

          • Andre 16.3.1.3.1
            15 January 2019 at 6:44 pm

            Just treat it as an opportunity for insight into the worldview of others, and ponder that some others view your offerings with the same kind of horrified fascination.

            • Morrissey 16.3.1.3.1.1
              15 January 2019 at 7:03 pm

              Are you trying to be funny or clever, or both? Don’t, don’t and don’t. You’re not up to it.

              Haven’t you got some conspiracist anti-Russian paranoia to watch on CNN?

              • McFlock …
                15 January 2019 at 7:36 pm

                It is actually a serious position to take, moz.

                It’s an interesting and sometimes valuable exercise to put one’s beliefs aside and genuinely try to see something from another person’s perspective. It doesn’t often change my own opinions of the issue, but it can change my opinions of the person and why they believe it. It’s easy to be trite and write them off as stupid, crazy, or duplicitous, but rational peole can have a completely different perspective from one’s own. And that’s a valuable thing. It’s why I still often have time for Bill, for example, even though these days I completely disagree with him on several issues. Whereas other commenters (some now on permabans) are just egos writing cheques their trousers can’t cash.

                Now, I grant you that DJW is a particularly challenging individual to try to understand, but the principle is sound.

          • te reo putake 16.3.1.3.2
            15 January 2019 at 7:13 pm

            Crikey! What’s Theresa May ever done to you?

            The answer is simple, Moz. Point out the stupidity in the comments and leave the commenter alone. Play the ball, not the man, as no one coaching rugby has said, ever.

            • Morrissey 16.3.1.3.2.1
              15 January 2019 at 9:16 pm

              I know, Te Reo, I know. I know, I know, I know.

              Well, here goes. This one goes out to Mr Ward…..

    • DJ Ward 17.1
      14 January 2019 at 5:53 pm

      How the hell is that fascist.

      You keep resorting to calling anybody agianst the morally corrupt Democrats fascists.
      You have no argument when you do that. Especially when the persons point of veiw is obviously not fascist.

      Plus his comment is factually correct.

      • joe90 17.1.1
        14 January 2019 at 6:29 pm

        Best you read up on how totalitarian thugs traditionally ascend to power via declarations of emergencies, special enabling laws, outlawing political parties and sweeping aside elected politicians they deem recalcitrant.

        • DJ Ward 17.1.1.1
          14 January 2019 at 7:53 pm

          So you don’t know what Totalitarian meens then.

          If an emergency is declared, and he has made it clear he would prefer it not happen as he prefers doing a consential deal with the Dems it would be limited to building a wall. It’s not like the military would be walking the streets. Manning the boarder maybe, but that’s nothing to do with complete subservience to the State. That’s virtually always a socialist thing. Like National Socialist, or communism. The action is to an external threat, not an internal one.

          Obama declared an emergency. Was he Totalitarian too. He was definately a warmonger. Libya and Syria. Far from deserving of a Peace Prize. Less people died in that event than 1 week of drug deaths caused by boarder crossings.

          When has Trump suggested outlawing Democracy?
          He has never attempted to remove any elected official. He just makes fun of them and calls a spade a spade. IE if they are useless he says so. He gets to say it a lot.

          An honest politician. Maybe because they are so rare you can’t comprehend it when you see it.

          Have you consulted anyone about your irrational paranoia on this issue. That’s a gigantic leap to suggest he intends to make himself President for life like the China leader. That’s what a Totalitarian State looks like. He has even stated he prefers limiting the number of terms people in office can serve just like the president. Plus he has made it clear 2 terms is enough for a President.

        • francesca 17.1.1.2
          15 January 2019 at 8:55 am

          Hmm
          Declaring emrgencies, postponing elections, shutting down news orgs
          Sounds like Poroshenko in Ukraine
          Joe, you’ve finally spotted it!

          • joe90 17.1.1.2.1
            15 January 2019 at 1:39 pm

            A reasonable response to separatist rebels and their imperialist backer’s malignant interference.

      • Morrissey 17.1.2
        15 January 2019 at 2:48 pm

        “How the hell is that fascist.”

        It’s official: You are the stupidest person on this forum.

        [Calling people stupid is pointless abuse, Morrissey, which is not really on. The lone exception being if Professor Longhair critiques one of his former students, which we’ll allow just for shits and giggles. TRP]

      • Jenny - How to get there? 17.1.3
        15 January 2019 at 7:22 pm

        ‘

        DJ, What in your opinion will “Sweeping aside” entail?

    • Morrissey 18.1
      15 January 2019 at 1:43 pm

      Bernstein used to be great once. Like James Watson, he’s less than impressive now.

      • North 18.1.1
        15 January 2019 at 3:38 pm

        “Bernstein used to be great once…..” Morrissey ? Thank you Oh Lord !
        You do understand it’s the way of things that repeated ‘default Trumpism’ ultimately raise questions about those whose reflex it is ? Poor Hillary…..here she is thinking she’s all washed up with no legacy at all to speak of. But No ! Sweeping know-it-all-ism in a remote corner of the South Pacific suggests otherwise.

  19. North 19
    15 January 2019 at 11:35 am

    Pays to treat everything posted here by Donald J. Ward as the angry ranting of a needy cultist. A reliable indicator of that; somewhere above a straightfaced Donald J. Ward recommends Donald J. Trump as a fine role model……wait for it……for children. Ask yourself……

    Oh dear, when I catch up with my long departed parents I must remonstrate sternly for their cruelly misconceived exhortations of 60 plus years ago that no good can come of trucking with bellicose bullies, moral thugs, pathological liars, crooks. Such defects are signal in Donald J. Trump. Whom seriously maintains otherwise ? Still……how my parents misled me. How shockingly-ill they fitted me for life. How do I know ? Well definitionally Donald J. Ward says so. Wow ! There is cult shit going on here alright.

    • Macro 19.1
      15 January 2019 at 2:05 pm

      👍

    • Andre 19.2
      15 January 2019 at 2:47 pm

      It’s a fascinating insight into the intracranial malfunction of a diehard Trumpkin.

      • Macro 19.2.1
        15 January 2019 at 4:58 pm

        There is a new name for Trumpkins – Wallnuts
        😈

        • McFlock 19.2.1.1
          15 January 2019 at 5:11 pm

          Well, that’s fucking depressing. Paulie was pretty much the only confirmed survivor of that family, wasn’t he? Everyone else either in jail or dead (or at least not confirmed alive 🙂 )?

          • Macro 19.2.1.1.1
            15 January 2019 at 5:23 pm

            Actually it’s quite pertinent

            On November 9, 2016, just a few minutes after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, a man named Vyacheslav Nikonov approached a microphone in the Russian State Duma (their equivalent of the US House of Representatives) and made a very unusual statement.

            “Dear friends, respected colleagues!” Nikonov said. “Three minutes ago, Hillary Clinton admitted her defeat in US presidential elections, and a second ago Trump started his speech as an elected president of the United States of America, and I congratulate you on this.”

            Nikonov is a leader in the pro-Putin United Russia Party and, incidentally, the grandson of Vyacheslav Molotov — after whom the “Molotov cocktail” was named. His announcement that day was a clear signal that Trump’s victory was, in fact, a victory for Putin’s Russia.

            From Trump’s ties to the Russian mafia go back 3 decades

  22. Macro 22
    15 January 2019 at 4:46 pm

    Here is the Answer!

    Thoughts and Prayers

    • Macro 23.1
      15 January 2019 at 8:42 pm

      Here is an op ed piece by Richard Painter, Former GOP Lawyer under GWB, and Leanne Watt, a psychologist.

      Some anti-Trump Republicans increasingly believe there’s more to it than extreme party loyalty – and they’re increasingly being vocal about it. They worry that some GOP congressional members defend Trump while also believing he’s a danger to both U.S. economic interests and national security.

      These Trump critics believe, in short, that at least a handful of prominent congressional Republicans are compromised by Russia, just like Trump.

      In an opinion essay penned as voters went to the polls last November, they say they applied “political and psychological insights, as well as Occam’s razor – the reasoning principle used by scientists and academics that states that the most obvious explanation is usually the correct one – [to make] an evidence-based case” against some of the foremost Republican members of Congress.

      Below are the U.S. representatives and senators who Painter and Watt fear are compromised:

      Lindsey Graham

      Long an institutionalist, Graham began to mimic Trump’s criticism of a “Deep State” and a corrupt FBI out to get the president.

      We know that Senator Graham’s emails were stolen by the Russians

      Mitch McConnell

      They add that between 2015 and 2017, McConnell’s Super-PAC received $3.5 million from “a Russian-American oligarch with close ties to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”

      Devin Nunes

      Write Painter and Watt: “There is no logical reason for Nunes to go so far in trying to obstruct the Russian investigation unless he has something personal at stake.”

      Note: there is a family vineyard that he owns, and I believe it is funded by some Russians.

      Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan and Steve Scalise

      Ryan, McCarthy and Scalise continued to back Nunes as House intelligence committee chairman despite Nunes’ questionable actions. They also sidestepped legislative efforts to shore up election security for the 2018 midterms and protect the Mueller investigation.

      Plus, write Painter and Watt, “Ryan was instrumental in stalling and weakening the Russia sanctions bill … doing a solid for Putin, rather than doling out the appropriate consequences and protecting the United States’ interests against an enemy combatant.”

      Still, they point out that the continued support of these prominent Republicans for Trump simply makes no sense, considering the damage Trump is doing to the “GOP brand” and that “Vice President [Mike] Pence would be Trump’s inevitable successor” if Congress removed Trump via impeachment and Senate conviction.

      “On the surface,” they write, “ushering in a President Pence would appear to be both a brilliant and logical move for the Republicans. … [Congressional Republicans’] failure to create this change suggests that something outside the realm of normal politics cements Republican leaders to Donald Trump.”

      https://www.oregonlive.com/expo/news/g66l-2019/01/57b774c5098316/congressional-republicans-also-caught-by-russia-so-protect-trump-exgop-white-house-lawyer.html

      • Andre 23.1.1
        15 January 2019 at 9:06 pm

        ” … ushering in a President Pence would appear to be both a brilliant and logical move for the Republicans … ”

        That’s forgetting the ‘when someone hits you hit them back ten times as hard’. They’re just cowering in fear of a vengeful Trumpzilla stomping on their asses with the wrath of millions of scorned Drumpfkins in their next primary.

        • Macro 23.1.1.1
          15 January 2019 at 9:53 pm

          Well yep there is that. In the meantime the GOP is slowly disintegrating as the more rational amongst them loose faith because reality fails to coincide with the baloney.

  24. Andre 24
    15 January 2019 at 8:29 pm

    I’m really curious what’s going on with Macro’s video link at 15.1. It’s regularly updating to some new vid taking the piss from Donny Tantrump. So far it’s given me a Kimmel, 2 or 3 Colberts, 2 or 3 Meyers. I’m grateful for the lolz even though it’s a helluva timesuck, but I’m really curious, can you now link to Youtube playlists or something?

    • Macro 24.1
      15 January 2019 at 8:47 pm

      yeah! I’ve been wondering wtf too. It was supposed to be a link to Seth Meyers monologue on tRumps visit to the border.
      When it all gets too much I have to resort to some sensible commentary from Seth, Trevor N, and Stephen C. Brings it all back to reality.

  25. Edward J Max 25
    25 January 2019 at 2:06 am

    President Trump has been talking with the ACOE for a year. As Commander-In-Chief, he needs to direct the Army to build the wall. The DOD has plenty of $ for this effort.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Stories of varying weight

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    17 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    23 hours ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-07-26T23:41:18+00:00