The Trump White House descends into chaos

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, May 12th, 2017 - 80 comments
Categories: Donald Trump, International, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, us politics, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

Watching the reign of Donald Trump as POTUS has been like watching a slow motion train wreck unfold before your eyes.

If you want to have a concise day by day blow by blow account then I recommend the website What the Fuck just happened today.

But it appears that things are getting worse.  Over the past few days:

  • Donald Trump has directly contradicted his own White House spin and said that he had already decided to terminate James Comey’s position.
  • The Russians managed to get a camera into the White House and took photos of Trump and the Russian Ambassador in the Oval Room.  I gather the security boffins are having kittens about this.
  • Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe directly contradicted Trump’s claim that Comey had lost the confidence of rank-and-file FBI agents.  This was reiterated by Thomas O’Connor, the president of the FBI Agents Association, who called Comey’s firing “a gut punch. We didn’t see it coming, and we don’t think Director Comey did anything that would lead to this”.
  • Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year’s election.
  • And the Senate intelligence committee has subpoenaed Michael Flynn for documents regarding his interactions with Russian officials. Flynn’s attorneys had previously informed the panel they would not cooperate with the probe unless the former general was granted immunity.  You have to wonder what he is worried about.

The feeling is strong that Russian involvement in last year’s election is going to result in charges.  And the White House is in turmoil.  How Trump responds to ongoing events is going to have a deep long term effect on America’s democracy.

80 comments on “The Trump White House descends into chaos ”

  1. Ad 1

    President Trump needs to serve out his full term.
    He is a joy to behold.

    The next set of questions to measure are:

    – Will Flynn flip against Trump now that he’s been subpoena’d?

    – Who will Trump appoint to run the FBI?

    – Will the FBI and the Justice Department investigate, or capitulate?

    – Will Republicans in Congress gradually generate a majority that turn against Trump and form an independent inquiry?

    And

    – Oprah or Dwayne Johnson for Democratic Presidential nominee next time?

    • Johan 1.1

      To Ad,
      The circus continues that is American politics. “President Trump needs to serve out his full term. He is a joy to behold.” You think, or is this your attempt at sarc?
      Perhaps, if Trump gets a decent night’s sleep his decision making skills may not border about the insanity range. I doubt very much that Trump will complete a whole term in office, there are way too many skeletons in the closet.

      • Ad 1.1.1

        He is a joy to behold because he is going to take the Republican majority in the House with him. This situation is going to get uglier and uglier and uglier, and he’s the guy the Repuglies backed to the hilt.

        • Johan 1.1.1.1

          Do you enjoy your trolling Ad?

          • marty mars 1.1.1.1.1

            he is just excited because he has a nice seat to watch at the Colosseum

          • Ad 1.1.1.1.2

            You need to see this as a renewal of democracy and of the Democrats in the US.

            Step back for a moment and see the patterns evolving.

            Politics is important again. It’s not the political team I wanted, but it’s doing part of a good job despite itself.

            Trump is not managing or reforming like Obama or Clinton did. He is wrecking. Just as he promised. No one and nothing is safe. As a result the Presidential office and Congress and the Senate are front and centre of public life. Trump will probably be jailed in the process – another great result.

            As a result, the contest within a calendar year will be down to the constitutional limits of all branches:

            – the military and intelligence community
            – the Supreme Court
            – the Senate, Congress
            – and the President,

            …all against each other, and against the fourth estate.

            Now that’s the kind of renewal that Washington has been needing for quite some time. And it will do the whole world some good as well.

            • weka 1.1.1.1.2.1

              In the absence of detail or even an actual vision I’m going to assume that the renewal you talk about will be a revitalised neoliberalism. Yaay. Meanwhile, what will happen to all the people that vote Tr*mp because they’re all pissed off with the status quo? You think they will be won over by some baubles?

              • Ad

                The constitutional framework is different from the politics of the parties.

                • weka

                  What’s the relevance of that comment?

                  • McFlock

                    Well, let’s say that part of the backlash involves the dems taking both houses and nuking the electoral college, or campaign finance reform.

                    Neither will directly change the dominant policies in the US, but they will make it more genuinely democratic – which will in turn make the party positions more responsive to voter demands rather than donor demands.

                    Whether that means the end of neoliberalism in the US would be more in control of the voters, but would not be determined by the constitutional changes.

                    • weka

                      “Well, let’s say that part of the backlash involves the dems taking both houses and nuking the electoral college, or campaign finance reform.”

                      Is either of those things likely? I mean, given the huge and organised resistance within the Dems to Saunders, why would it be reasonable to think that the powers there want things to change?

                    • McFlock

                      Well, Sanders becoming a contender has shifted leverage to the progressive dems like Warren.

                      And the tea party and trump have scared a lot of “shear not skin” republicans.

                      I think the AD theory is that Trump being a cataclysm now leaves the backlash in a better shape than the creeping totalitarianism that’s been the post-WW2 US. If I’m not mirepresenting AD, I agree with them.

                      The bigger threat is a president Pence who progresses more and more Talibanesque policies under the guise of respectability.

                      I reckon it’s coming to a head, either way, in the next couple of decades, whether the US becomes more democratic or simply becomes another tinpot regime without even the pretence of free speech. They’re already arresting reporters.

                    • weka

                      That makes a fair amount of sense (and I appreciate the effort at explaining). I guess I just don’t see quite the same potential for something good to come out of this. Happy to be wrong about that.

                  • Ad

                    The Constitutional framework allowed for the economic politics as broad as Lincoln, the two Roosevelts, Johnson, and Bush 1 and 2. So you’ve made a wrong assumption.

                    • weka

                      But the actual people in the Democratic Party are unlikely to change much and will be happy to shift things to the extent that allows them the power to continue with the status quo. Unless I am missing something, in which case someone can explain.

                    • Ad

                      Stop worrying about the Democrats.
                      They’re not in power.

                    • weka

                      ok, so the Republicans will implode and a magical new political class will rise from the ashes and transform the US political science. The Dems will sit on the sidelines and twiddle their thumbs.

                  • North

                    The relevance of Ad’s comment, that constitutionalism ‘trumps’ bullshit (forgive me), sticks out like dogs’ balls Weka.
                    President Petulant Child seems to appreciate that The Constitution is there to serve President Petulant Child personally. You know that’s bullshit Weka so what’s the relevance of your query of Ad ? Your shifting of the goalposts with conjecture as to likelihoods of this or that does not assist to make relevant your initial irrelevant query of Ad.

                    • weka

                      No idea what you are on about. Ad chooses not to explain what he means, so there will be people here myself included how don’t get it /shrug.

            • Johan 1.1.1.1.2.2

              To Ad,
              “As a result the Presidential office and Congress and the Senate are front and centre of public life.”
              I hate to burst your enthusiastic bubble, but the US Senate is not separate from congress. Congress is made up of a Senate and the House of Representatives.
              I do agree that the Democrats as a party need to get rid of a number of flaws which were already visible during the Obama campaigns.
              The nature of the beast which is US politics with its checks and balances, will eventually come back to an equilibrium position.
              US presidents do not go to jail, each president gets to have a “pardon, get out of jail free card” for past wrongs. Cheers

              • Ad

                Trump is going into water even Nixon avoided. And Nixon was forced to resign.

                Forget your quibbling and read the plays. American government is going to come out after Trump shinier and cleaner than a dime in a can of Coke.

                • Andre

                  Erm, after Nixon was Carter. Then Reagan.

                  • Ad

                    Aware of both.
                    Go ahead and make a point.

                    • Andre

                      Carter’s administration was relatively clean, but hardly “shinier and cleaner than a dime in a can of coke”. And at the time, Reagan’s administration was somewhat putrid, although standards have lowered since then.

                      So living through Nixon didn’t bring about the renewal you’re expecting to follow Trump.

                    • Ad

                      Who knows what leader will arise after Trump?

                      It’s not the personalities that follow, it’s the system itself, which is going to be so profoundly tested that we won’t have seen anything like it since Lincoln. The shakeup is one almighty charismatic force against the entire constitutional framework.

              • North

                Somewhat sniffily semantic there Johan. I’d wager handsomely that Ad is singularly aware that ‘Congress’ embraces both the US House of Representatives AND the US Senate even if by usage a member of the former is referred to as “congresswoman/congressman”
                Thanks anyway for underlining what we already know. Big point.

            • D'Esterre 1.1.1.1.2.3

              Ad: “You need to see this as a renewal of democracy and of the Democrats in the US.”
              Haha, good luck with that!
              See this: https://consortiumnews.com/2017/05/11/the-scandal-hidden-behind-russia-gate/

            • D'Esterre 1.1.1.1.2.4

              Ad: “Trump is not managing or reforming like Obama or Clinton did.”
              Say what? Obama in particular achieved virtually nothing in office – the ill-fated and flawed Obamacare aside – firstly because he was shite at politics, secondly because he was white-anted by the neocons, almost as soon as he’d taken office. The same thing that’s happening to Trump, of course.
              As to the old goat Clinton, he was too busy screwing interns in the map room – then ordering the bombing of Belgrade and an inoffensive factory in Sudan, to distract public attention from said interns – to get too much done. Besides, he was absolutely in thrall to the neocon project.

            • Phil 1.1.1.1.2.5

              You need to see this as a renewal of democracy … Trump is not managing or reforming like Obama or Clinton did. He is wrecking. Just as he promised.

              Your interpretation is fundamentally flawed. Going back to at least Truman after WWII, each US president has incrementally eroded the power of the constitution and the checks and balances applied by Congress – sometimes by staring-down Congress, sometimes with the complicity of Congress.

              Examples include Obama’s enhanced use of drone strikes, Bush-2’s sweeping new powers after 9-11, and the absurdity of American involvement in Vietnam being a “Police action” rather than a war.

              Trump does not represent a departure or variation from this trend whatsoever. All he has done is taken a much larger step down the path toward absolute presidential authority, instead of the incremental or baby-steps of his predecessors.

              • Ad

                Oh I’m not pretending Trump has a conscious clue about most of it.
                Or even his team.

                But the effect of a true, hard test of the constitutional framework and the full strength of the checks and balances is coming, right to its core.

                • North

                  I wouldn’t be too concerned about the responses of self proclaimed lefty purists Ad. There is vast moral purity in selecting the greater of evils over the lesser of evils in protest at the whole greater/lesser of evils number. Such is purity chortle.

            • reason 1.1.1.1.2.6

              Your dreaming Ad …. Competing factions of oligarchs is not renewal.

              Forget about ‘reds’ influencing the Billion dollar circus they call democracy/elections …. The accusation is dodgy http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-07/wikileaks-exposes-cia-exploit-capable-cyber-false-flag-attack-blame-russia ..

              Apart from the rank hypocrisy ( 31 min mark, the cia coup on Gough Whitlams Labor Government ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CFLpZcY3ss

              It is actually Nazi ideals , connections and money ….. which has warped their politics and blood-thirsty foreign relations ……..

              Delusional “gods greatest” propaganda sees them above and immune from international law….. on the basis of their huge military.

              They have a long history of support for fascism ….

              “Pioneer Fund’s first president, Harry Laughlin, “wanted the lowest 10 percent of Americans sterilized to ‘eradicate in-ferior people’”. Over 75,000 Americans were sterilized against their will between 1924 and 1972. The legality of the com-pulsory sterilisations was upheld by the
              US Supreme Court in 1927. The 1927 decision has never been overturned, and is still a part of US law.”

              Many of their biggest corporations prolonged WWII .,… by feeding the German war machine … tax havens were also handy

              “Thus, when the Allied troops successfully invaded France near the end of World War II, they discovered that they had something in common with their German enemies: Ford and General Motors vehicles run-ning on gasoline provided by Standard Oil.
              2
              Ford, GM and Standard Oil weren’t the only ones, of course. All in all,
              around 200 prominent US corporations helped the Nazis before and during World War II,”

              https://dogandlemon.com/sites/default/files/cars_nazis.pdf

              https://libcom.org/library/allied-multinationals-supply-nazi-germany-world-war-2

              http://emperors-clothes.com/docs/gehlen2.htm

              http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3177385/The-second-life-Nazi-war-criminal-German-documentary-reveals-butcher-Lyon-Klaus-Barbie-fixer-drug-lords-went-run-South-America.html

              Trump ( and clinton ) are a damning indictment of a nation which feels free to kill ………… the Untermensch

              • Ad

                Are you saying the US government are Nazis?
                I’m trying to figure your comment out.

                • ropata

                  The US legal framework giving corporations human rights, and a free pass to pollute and kill poor communities, is fascist in practice. However lovely their PR and bullshit about the Constitution, the US empire exists only for the benefit of mega corporations and the ultra wealthy 0.01%

              • Stuart Munro

                Sad to agree – Dahlian polyarchy in all its dystopian splendor.

    • Wainwright 1.2

      ‘a joy to behold’ says someone who isn’t gonig to be imprisoned, extradited or left to die from preventable disease because of him. Honestly the way some of us treat this fascist thug as a bit of light entertainment before the great socailist revolution is revolting.

      • rhinocrates 1.2.1

        Or worse, as a good thing because he will supposedly accelerate it. Omelettes and eggs and all that – as long as those eggs are other people.

      • Anne 1.2.2

        …the way some of us treat this fascist thug as a bit of light entertainment before the great socailist revolution is revolting.

        We don’t Wainwright. Trump is revolting and he needs to be gone before he does any more damage. But in the meantime there is still a place for humour and light-hearted banter to sustain people and give them something to laugh about. It’s happened in bad times throughout history.

    • Tui 1.3

      yes! trump needs to be given a chance!

      ~tui

  2. joe90 2

    Michael Hayden:

    I mean I’m purely speculating here. I’m trying to avoid the conclusion that we’ve become Nicaragua.

    https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/why-now-1093

  3. Andre 3

    How the impeachment might go down…

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-republican-plan-to-remove-trump_us_5913d4d3e4b01ad573dac120?section=us_politics

    Or why Trump will get a second term…

    https://theconversation.com/trump-will-likely-win-reelection-in-2020-77362

    Maybe all that needs to happen is for people to just be nicer to the delicate orange snowflake and it will all settle down…

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/11/maybe-comey-had-just-hurt-poor-donnie-s-feelings

  4. The projected train wreck is wrecking – meanwhile the collateral damage to real people trying to live real lives continues – don’t forget who is really losing out of all this – the targets of the mango Mussolini and his pitiful crew and supporters – the poor, the disadvantaged, the people of colour, the Hispanic peoples, women, minorities, anyone who wants healthcare, and so on and on.

    some from within their privilege will enjoy the spectacle (including me) – others will cower down trying to survive as it all fall apart around them.

    trump is scum, trump’s team are cum and his supporters are um.

  5. joe90 5

    Popcorn, lotsa popcorn…..

    If you're curious why @FBI is raiding the national GOP consulting firm Strategic Campaign Group headquarters in Annapolis, here's a hint…— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) May 11, 2017

    .@FBI Dennis Whitfield, senior advisor at @scgpolitical, has ties to BKSH & Assoc. That's a Paul Manafort company. https://t.co/PfDJ4gfrQb— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) May 11, 2017

    https://twitter.com/fawfulfan/status/862740680787070976

    ANNAPOLIS, Md. —

    FBI agents executed a search warrant Thursday at an office of a GOP fundraising/consulting firm in Annapolis, the 11 News I-Team has learned.

    […]

    The firm is touted for pioneering the use of technology in political campaigns, and it represents GOP candidates nationwide. The firm’s website said one of its principles was formerly associated with a firm operated by Paul Manafort, who is the former Trump campaign manager whose business dealings with Russia are under intense scrutiny.

    http://www.wbaltv.com/article/fbi-searching-annapolis-fundraiserconsulting-firm/9639787

  6. mauī 6

    Response from Russian propaganda machine and conspiracy theorist Ron Paul:
    https://youtu.be/ST2XZ97sjIk

  7. Anne 7

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201843559/acting-fbi-director-contradicts-white-house-over-james-comey

    Incredible stuff – in particular second half from Simon Marks.

    Load the fridge, we’re in for a tumultuous time.

    • D'Esterre 7.1

      Anne: “Incredible stuff – in particular second half from Simon Marks.”
      Lord! Surely you don’t take at face value anything that little hack says? Remember his prognostications prior to the US election? Heheh

  8. joe90 8

    heh

    9. What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of Donald Trump? (Numbers are not percentages. Figures show the number of times each response was given. This table reports only words that were mentioned at least five times.)

    idiot 39
    incompetent 31
    liar 30
    leader 25
    unqualified 25
    president 22
    strong 21
    businessman 18
    ignorant 16
    egotistical 15
    asshole 13
    stupid 13
    arrogant 12
    trying 12
    bully 11
    business 11
    narcissist 11
    successful 11
    disgusting 10
    great 10
    clown 9
    dishonest 9
    racist 9
    American 8
    bigot 8
    good 8
    money 8
    smart 8
    buffoon 7
    con-man 7
    crazy 7
    different 7
    disaster 7
    rich 7
    despicable 6
    dictator 6
    aggressive 5
    blowhard 5
    decisive 5
    embarrassment 5
    evil 5
    greedy 5
    inexperienced 5
    mental 5
    negotiator 5
    patriotism 5

    https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2456

  9. joe90 9

    Comey was given the arse to bring the Russia investigation to its end.

    The White House said Thursday that removing FBI Director James Comey from his post may hasten the agency’s investigation into Russian meddling.
    “We want this to come to its conclusion, we want it to come to its conclusion with integrity,” said deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders, referring to the FBI’s probe into Moscow’s interference in last year’s election. “And we think that we’ve actually, by removing Director Comey, taken steps to make that happen.”

    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/11/politics/comey-fbi-investigation-russia-sarah-huckabee-sanders/

  10. Johan 10

    To Joe90,
    Joe are you entertained by all the spin and BS? Trump being the ultimate control freak would definitely want a yes-man as head of the FBI.

  11. Andre 11

    Ya gotta hand it to the Chump. Even with all the turd tornadoes buffeting all around him, he can keep a clear focus on his top priority. His Twitter feud with Rosie O’Donnell.

    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/11/politics/donald-trump-rosie-odonnell/index.html

  12. AmaKiwi 12

    Number 45 is ruining NZ politics because he is so entertaining. To paraphrase him, “Andrew Little or Bill English could shoot someone in the middle of Queen Street and no one would notice.”

    Thank God Number 45 is so incompetent. What a nightmare if he had the organizational skills of a real dictator like Putin!

    • dukeofurl 12.1

      new Presidents are normally pretty clumsy, Trump has moved the bar a little lower thats all.
      Will his voters come out in the mid terms is the question, even when his name isnt on the ballot.
      Obama had his face slapped by the voters at his first mid term, its one track for Trump to get his arse kicked

      • Andre 12.1.1

        Yeah, the President’s party usually loses support at the midterms. But set against that is turnout is usually low, which allegedly favours Repugs. And the Repugs actually gained in 2002, coz 9/11. I’m pretty sure that lesson has been taken on board by at least some members of Trump’s team.

      • AmaKiwi 12.1.2

        He has been brilliant in uniting the center and left voters in their hatred of him.

        “Friends may come and friends may go, but enemies accumulate.”

        I predict the Republicans will get massacred in the mid-terms. Then impeachment becomes a mathematical possibility.

        • Andre 12.1.2.1

          Impeachment by the House may become likely. But to actually remove the President requires conviction by 2/3 of the Senate, 67 votes. The Dems currently have 48 Senators.

          The Republican-held seats up for election in 2018 are: Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Nebraska, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee. So mathematically it’s impossible for the Dems to have 2/3 of the Senate, at absolute most they can get to 56. But realistically they’ll be doing very well to even get to 50/50.

          • DeadSmurf 12.1.2.1.1

            If the rumours of multiple grand juries and impending indictments are true then I could see some repug senators moving fairly quickly to side with the dems. Especially from states in the north.

          • DeadSmurf 12.1.2.1.2

            If the rumours of multiple grand juries and impending indictments are true then I could see some repug senators moving fairly quickly to side with the dems, especially from states in the north.

            If that happens then they could get to 2/3.

  13. Bill 13

    That which passes for democratic governance in the US is in turmoil – not “Trumps” White House.

    This nonsense that Russia interfered in the election, where the bulk of the ‘proof’ for that is scheduled and aired RT programmes that engaged in such nefarious behaviour as having three way debates including Green Party presidential nominees… It leaves me speechless that otherwise seemingly intelligent people gave any credence to the pages of gossip that were released as an Intelligence Agencies report, but hey.

    Which (that and other paper thin reports) suggests there’s an argument to be had that the Intelligence Agencies have become politicised.

    There’s also an argument to be had that the bulk of msm reporters are playing the role of the stenographer and that their vacuous shit is being underscored by their employer’s editorial lines.

    Which may boil down to an argument to be had that a ‘realignment’ or an attempt at ‘realignment’ is underway within the lofty echelons of the US elite.

    But “Trumps” White House is not in turmoil. Hell, it’s not “his” White House any more than it was ever “Obama’s” White House.

    It belongs to the US elites and some of their nonsense ripples through it.

    Separate from that, sometimes they (the elites) are gifted a figurehead by the electorate who knows the game and plays along (Obama, Clinton, Bush, Bush, Reagan….) Sometimes not so much. And in those cases the figurehead is ‘enlightened’ as to the existence of the game and ‘encouraged’ to play.

    In essence, there’s a circus in town. We can traipse along with our pop-corn and give it our undivided attention, or we can give some focus to what’s going on outside the Big Top and (scary thought!) actually question why we bother with circus at all 😉

  14. joe90 14

    I guess they can’t grind those drives up fast enough.

    CNN's Jeff Zeleny reporting that Comey's office is cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape. You can't make this stuff up— Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) May 12, 2017

  15. Philj 15

    For some reason, this reminds me of the Syria disaster. Somehow connected?

  16. xanthe 16

    this link seems relevant as context.
    pic.twitter.com/NDUk90Jp5q

    • joe90 16.1

      Link, where?.

        • Anne 16.1.1.1

          Okay, so when the results came through they were shocked and stunned. Somebody said it was the effing hack that caused it. Somebody else said… and Coney made it worse. They were furious and upset about what happened. We call it “Dirty Politics”. In this case it was “Filthy Politics”. Over the next few days they openly repeated what they were thinking. Big deal? No. It’s normal behaviour from normal human beings.

          In fact it was pretty much my reaction too. Was I involved in some deep, sinister Democrat inspired conspiracy to fool the nation? No.

          • xanthe 16.1.1.1.1

            But who was saying, “we fucked up”? who was saying “hey maby a dumb idea to promote Trump” ? who was saying “perhaps we should have offered something positive instead of just demonising Trump”? who was saying “perhaps it was not such a good idea to stack the deck against bernie”?

            Because I dont see this! all i see is “the russians didit” (bullshit !) and “Comey didit” (more bullshit !!).

            who is saying “hey maby if we had played a straight game the hack and comey would not have mattered” ?

          • Xanthe 16.1.1.1.2

            Anne there are those that fool and those who are fooled

            • Anne 16.1.1.1.2.1

              Regardless of the accuracy of the Democrat’s claims, calling a beat-up a beat-up is a common response to beat-ups. Imo, that is what that linked item is… an attempt to turn the Demo Party’s initial response into a sinister conspiracy. Piffle.

              • Xanthe

                Anne , If you cant see that “the russsians did it, Comey did it, is a beat up then you really are not in any position to call “beat up”

                i dont “support trump” in any form, I am implacably opposed to public misinformarion and misleading the public and unlike you I will oppose it whoever the target is. You ARE the problem for the left!

  17. rhinocrates 17

    New Yorker podcast, discussion with a legal scholar:

    http://www.newyorker.com/podcast/political-scene/can-trump-survive

    Can Trump Survive?
    On Tuesday, the President dismissed the F.B.I. director, James Comey, who was leading an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Evan Osnos joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss how Trump continues to damage his own Presidency.

    Earlier article by Evan Osnos written before Comey’s sacking and mentioned in the interview:

    http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/08/how-trump-could-get-fired

    HOW TRUMP COULD GET FIRED
    The Constitution offers two main paths for removing a President from office. How feasible are they?

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    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    5 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    10 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    10 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    12 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
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