Trump: Nyet Collusion!

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, March 25th, 2019 - 138 comments
Categories: Donald Trump, International, Politics, Russia, us politics - Tags: ,

US Attorney General William Barr’s summary of the Mueller report says that there is no evidence the the Trump team colluded with the Kremlin in the lead up to the Presidential election.

However, it does appear to confirm that the Russians were at least trying to get on board with the Trump campaign, with multiple attempts to gain leverage.

Additionally, Mueller does not say that Trump is clear of attempting to obstruct justice. This is significant, as other law agencies are still involved in ongoing investigations into matters surrounding the paying off of Stormy Daniels and others.

However, all in all, this is a good result for Individual 1 and his handlers in the Kremlin.

 

138 comments on “Trump: Nyet Collusion! ”

  1. Puckish Rogue 1

    Don’t worry I’m sure this won’t deter those who truly believe

    • cleangreen 1.1

      Believe what PR?

      • Puckish Rogue 1.1.1

        That the only reason Trump could possibly have beaten Clinton is due to Russian collusion

        Nothing to do with how deeply unpopular Clinton is, how decisive she is, how she didn’t even bother to campaign in most of the states nope it was the Russians

  2. Paaparakauta 2

    Kak sie pozyvajice ?

  3. Anne 3

    My understanding is that there was insufficient evidence to conclude Trump was involved in “collusion and obstruction”, but there was insufficient evidence to exonerate him either.

    In other words the Meuller report does not come to a firm conclusion.

    That means it is going to have to come from elsewhere.

    • Dennis Frank 3.1

      Yeah, from elsewhere. I know – someone will stick up their hand & say “We were huddled around the table, colluding and obstructing, and Trump entered the room, grabbed a peppermint out of the bowl on the table, and left without saying a word. He was definitely involved. He was in the room!”

      I agree with TRP that the Russians were definitely trying it on. Said so here last year. Collusion can equate with common interests? No, it must be evidence-based.

      • Sabine 3.1.1

        the buck stops with everyone but the boss.

        boss knows nothing, boss just eat mints, boss not here, boss profiting but not because he did anything, boss innocent. 🙂

        must be. right? cause boss just took a wafer thin mint.

    • Sabine 3.2

      non of us has read or seen the report.

      what has been made public is the ‘condensation of the report by Attorney General Barr. \

      i have no opinion on the Russians or interference for that as i expect other players to try to influence local politics everywhere.
      See Chinese influence in NZ.

      the issue that trump has is that Mueller farmed out a lot of his findings to other courts that have already begun their own investigations and a lot of that will have to do with other things then Russian interference. Things like tax evasion, money laundering and such. 🙂

      So the shitshow in the US is gonna continue going on, it will get worse before it gets better, if it gets better at all.

      in essence they US will have to live with the shitstain, and so does the world.

    • cleangreen 3.3

      Anne,

      Apparently Trump’s senior Council said today that is not Mueller’ as special Council to rule on whether he ‘s exonerate President Trump but to find if he colluded with Russia.

      His job was to review all the facts, after two years of reviewing them.

    • Chris T 3.4

      Is that like David Bain?

    • Dukeofurl 3.5

      Barr, the attorney General appointed by Trump after he sacked Sessions has very cleverly worded ‘No Collusion’ to only be connected to the “Russian Government”

      A range of Russians , who cant be definitely connected to ‘the Government’ , were still involved.

  4. reason 4

    “It’s official: Russiagate is this generation’s WMD
    The Iraq war faceplant damaged the reputation of the press. Russiagate just destroyed it”

    https://taibbi.substack.com/p/russiagate-is-wmd-times-a-million

    “Nobody wants to hear this, but news that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller is headed home without issuing new charges is a death-blow for the reputation of the American news media. ”

    “Nothing Trump is accused of from now on by the press will be believed by huge chunks of the population, a group that (perhaps thanks to this story) is now larger than his original base. As Baker notes, a full 50.3% of respondents in a poll conducted this month said they agree with Trump the Mueller probe is a “witch hunt.”

    I will note our media is just as bad ….the description ‘echo chamber’, has been mentioned by a ‘Christchurch false flag’ loon here on TS today … but it actually is a good description of our Media.

    John Campbell got the boot from TV3 for not repeating the pro nat / key echos of the day.

    Our media still amplify repeat and echo pro / nat rubbish.

    Its a good thing Trump didn’t declare the Nacts winners of our last election …. and recognize them as the legit Govt…. he won with 3 million less votes than the democrat losers after all.

    Our media kept telling us the Nats got more votes than labour …. and the coalition govt was not valid / legit

    Our right-wing trolls would have told us a coup was actually for the good of NZ ….

    Our media … who can tell with all the lies they tell us ???

    • Dennis Frank 4.1

      “This is a damning page one admission by the Times. Despite the connect-the-dots graphic in its other story, and despite the astonishing, emotion-laden editorial the paper also ran suggesting “We don’t need to read the Mueller report” because we know Trump is guilty, Baker at least began the work of preparing Times readers for a hard question: “Have journalists connected too many dots that do not really add up?”

      Interesting. The media leading the public down the garden path? Gosh, why would anyone think such a thing?

    • cleangreen 4.2

      100% correct reason.

      Believe nothing you see and only part of what you hear is today’s world.

      Trump was hated because he hated the ‘Washington’ Swamp whom Chuck Schumer, (chief Dem’s shit-stirrer) warned Trump, that if ‘he stepped out of line’ they would have six ways at getting back at you.

      https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/03/trump-fights-deep-state-swamp-fights-back/.

      “Trump was warned by friends, enemies, and neutrals that his fight against the deep state was suicidal. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, just a few days before Trump’s inauguration, cheerfully forecast (in a precursor to Samantha Power’s later admonition) what might happen to Trump once he attacked the intelligence services: “Let me tell you: You take on the intelligence community — they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.”

      Now we now see the ‘Washington Swamp’ will spend the rest of all time to get rid of him as he is a danger to the ‘establishment’.

      Trump has a strong team, and we hope he does clear out the swamp, as we need to here in NZ..

      • left_forward 4.2.1

        What is this so-called NZ Swamp cleanserGreen?

        This metaphor has been so warn out it has no meaning, and you think that you can bring it so casually into a NZ context without explanation – so what are you trying to say? – that we need our own Trump to clean out the Labour / NZFirst / Green alliance (swamp?) or something?

        Who is your NZ swamp cleanser-outerer (your saviour Trump) – Collins?

        • SpaceMonkey 4.2.1.1

          Maybe our swamp is in the upper echelons of the public service…. stacked to the hilt with neo-lib acolytes looking to ride the executive gravy train. If they’re especially good they might get that dreamed-of appointment to a corporate board.

          The “swamp cleanser-outerer” hasn’t appeared yet. For now, NZ is still too captured by corporate interests to fight back.

      • Liberal Realist 4.2.2

        Believe nothing you see and only part of what you hear is today’s world.

        Couldn’t agree more cleangreen.

        IMO nothing in the MSM, US or otherwise can now be taken as objective ‘journalism’. The fourth estate is dead.

        John Pilger categorises ‘news’ as ‘approved’ and ‘unapproved’. We only ever get to hear/read/watch ‘approved news’ from MSM.

      • reason 4.2.3

        CleanGreen ….. the only reason Im not disapointed with Trump to the extent I was with Obama …… is because my expectations were close to zero with Trump.

        In reality the usa Govt strikes me as a cross between a mafia …. the roman empire with all those fucking eagles and symbols ….. and the Nazis with their superiority / exceptionalism complex.

        They all make me sick …and are a brutal disgrace to the white english speaking nations.

        The UK are not much better…. as they smear anti war leaders like Corbyn

        • Colin 4.2.3.1

          I think your Anti war opinion of Corbyn is a bit rich he has in the past celebrated I R A. Bombings in Birmingham which killed many innocent people, he also supports Hamas, who the U. N. Have ruled are a Terrorist organisation.

  5. miravox 5

    “However, all in all, this is a good result for Individual 1″… who was always not bright enough to collude.

  6. Sabine 6

    i think everyone should simply hold the horses.
    this is what people are talking about this:
    https://splinternews.com/heres-the-full-text-of-william-barrs-mueller-report-let-1833528560

    https://splinternews.com/heres-the-full-text-of-william-barrs-mueller-report-let-1833528560

    https://splinternews.com/heres-the-full-text-of-william-barrs-mueller-report-let-1833528560

    https://splinternews.com/heres-the-full-text-of-william-barrs-mueller-report-let-1833528560

    the letter from williams barr, attorney general. The report itself has not been made public.

    No matter what it found, no one has yet been given access to the report other then the people in the white house

    either way, no one knows anything. Might pay to keep that in mind.

    • Dennis Frank 6.1

      Profound: “no one knows anything”. Doesn’t stop philosophers pretending though, eh? Nor scientists. Ignorance is bliss. 😎

      • Sabine 6.1.1

        honestly, my opinion is simple as

        If he would have been exonerated he would have released the full report while still in Mar a lago golfing. He would be holding a press conferences in the rose garden and the fat fuck would be twerking to ‘i did not do it’. But that is my opinion and i never had any good opinion of the vile fucker from the beginning on.

        but for the Muller report?

        No one, other then the white house and the attorney general and Mueller of course know what is in the FULL report.

        Do you take umbrage with that statement? Can you point, link to any excerpts of the report? Because i supported my statement wit the links to the letter of Attorney General Barr.

        No you can’t because it has not been made available yet.

        What you have a is a letter / short summary of Attorney General Barr.

        so where am i wrong to suggest that people may not render their garments and rip out their hair in despair?

        And i for one am fully prepared to see the shitstain grift as president until he drops dead and his daughter wife will be declared queen of Trumpistan. But then i am a natural born pessimist.

        • Dennis Frank 6.1.1.1

          Your point is valid. Prosecution requires enough evidence to likely secure conviction. Evidence may be in the full report – just not enough to convict on…

        • cleangreen 6.1.1.2

          Sabine;

          I felt the same about Hilary Clinton as you did about trump.

          We had several bad actors in this election, so we hope the next one goes better.
          Same for our election next year too.

          Labour have made many mistakes and lost some respect from broken promises.

          • WILD KATIPO 6.1.1.2.1

            And yet , we have a once in a lifetime leader in Jacinda Adern. She ranks alongside of MJS and Norman Kirk.

            And a few other miscellaneous leaders from the original true , and honest Conservative Right before the treason’s of Roger Douglas and the neo liberals…

  7. Andre 7

    Do keep in mind Barr was very recently hand-picked for the job, with this exact moment a strong selection consideration. So Barr’s summary has to be viewed as pretty much the best possible spin that could be put on the report.

    https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/03/the-trump-administration-is-still-busily-spinning-the-mueller-report/

    • lprent 7.1

      Do keep in mind Barr was very recently hand-picked for the job, with this exact moment a strong selection consideration.

      Which is why the “light-of-day” transparency debate is where this will go on from. It’d be pretty hard to trust such a partisan AG to provide a fair and balanced summary. But I’d guess that the administration wanted to get ahead of the news cycle and tell Hanity and the Pravda crowd at Fox how they should move their lips.

    • cleangreen 8.1

      Joe 100%

      That was a good compassion there.

      • Macro 8.1.1

        LOL
        From your previous comments on here that Tweet went right over your head!
        It is pointing out the hypocrisy of Trump and his followers.
        Note : Comey investigated Hillary’s misuse of a Private email server and found there was little to indict her on.
        But “Lock her up!”
        Mueller investigated Trump’s call for Russia to release the emails just days before the release by Wikileaks to see if there was any direct connection here and similarly found there was apparently no connect between that event and the actual release:
        But “NO COLLUSION”
        Two apparently wrongful acts, both investigated, both found to be unworthy of indictment, but completely different responses.
        See the hypocrisy here?

  8. joe90 9

    Masha Gessen reckons it’s actually an attempt at state capture by an international crime syndicate.

    The story is not that Putin is masterminding a vast and brilliant attack on Western democracy. The story, it appears, is that the Russian Mafia state is cultivating profit-yielding relationships with the aspiring Mafia boss of the U.S. and his band of crooks, subverting democratic institutions in the process.

    https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-trump-russia-investigation-and-the-mafia-state

  9. There was the interview between Julian Assange and John Pilger where it was disclosed that the Clinton Foundation was funneling funds to purchase American made arms for Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia which were then redistributed to ISIS,…

    Ever wondered where the global accusation of ‘ America seems to be dragging its feet in dealing to ISIS’ came from? – there’s your motivation for that situation RIGHT THERE !

    Russia was doing a better job.

    But perhaps that’s because they didn’t have the murderous Obomba in charge,….

    Oh,… and BTW , – I recall one arms deal in particular was in excess of Eighty Billion dollars worth of military hardware !!!

    At that time , the worlds biggest arms deal (to supply ISIS). Following that , there was an even bigger one a year or so later.

    One of the reasons why the cry ‘ She needs to be impeached and locked up ‘ was so popular…

    Hilary Clinton. Mass murderer.

    Julian Assange: US knows Saudi and Qatari sponsor ISIS – YouTube

    Gah.

    Far Left wingers and far Right wingers are all the same.

    Both wings of the same bow bent so far round they meet in the middle to their final conclusion: Totalitarians.

    Ask yourselves… where would we have been if George Bush Jr had been in power during the stand off between North Korea and the USA?

    Or even Barracks Obomba ?- you know , – the guy who signed off every Tuesday for five years on drone strikes in the Middle East that killed hundreds of civilians?

    Instead, we now have seen North Korea and the USA sitting round the table together – possibly with North Korea getting badly needed foreign investment pouring in and becoming less of a communist satellite nation…

    Donald Trump , – The first American president to affect that sort of change since the late 1950’s… around 60 years…. no small feat.

    Gallery – It’s So Nice To Be With You – YouTube

    • cleangreen 10.1

      1000% Wild Katipo.

      Washington swamp is an evil empire in itself and murders and places their government puppets in other countries to corrupt them.

      So the US is not ‘snow white as they seem to think they are.’
      Hillary was caught giving 20% of the US Uranium supply to Russia remember?

      • Andre 10.1.1

        *sigh* It was only yesterday that Macro linked to a debunking of that Repug smear about Hillary and Uranium One. Here it is again for you.

        https://www.vox.com/2017/11/17/16658080/uranium-one-clinton-russia-chart

        • WILD KATIPO 10.1.1.1

          Answer the other one’s then.

          You cant.

          Its out there for all to see.

          • Andre 10.1.1.1.1

            Angry arachnid rants take way too much time and energy to wade through to try and figure out what’s actually being said. Let alone doing research to debunk what takes mere seconds to spray out.

            • WILD KATIPO 10.1.1.1.1.1

              Translate that into plain English and you might just have a case.

              When the blunt facts are presented to you , – the onus is on YOU to disprove it, not me.

              Now,… about that 80 billion dollar trades deal of arms to ISIS funneled through the Hilary Foundation….

              Got any ideas on that?

              Or is that clashing tie Trumps wearing distracted you too much?

          • cleangreen 10.1.1.1.2

            Andre’s an apologist for Hillary I see.

        • Sam 10.1.1.2

          After years of going around saying impeach Trump, The Uranian One deal is now the equivalent of saying Trump encouraged Russia to hack the US election.

      • WILD KATIPO 10.1.2

        I just reckon that the American public have been grossly misrepresented since the time of Lyndon B Johnson .

        Same goes for the peoples in many other country’s including the Middle East. Most of them just want to see their children grow up and prosper and do better than their parents did.

        Its not the common people,- its the scumbags that rule over them that’s the problem. And the media who try to slant things in favor of ongoing wars and prejudices. Same as it was during WW1.

        And who were the cannon fodder for these ruling megalomaniacs?

        The common people of the working and middle classes.

        We are surrounded by hundreds of kilometers of water… a natural border. We know nothing of radicalized, militarized gangs and drug cartels like the Americans do entering their country. ( Such as MS -13 ) .

        Who are we to dare even comment on the social disorders they face. All Trump ever wanted was a ‘wall’ to prevent the ILLEGALS from entering, – not the ‘legals’.

        So all we ever get over here in our media are the sanctimonious, supercilious rantings of the global media trying to condemn what is , a serious real time problem for citizens of the USA.

        The sort of media rants whereby if Trump wore a tie that clashed with his suit it meant world apocalypse had now arrived.

        That’s how pathetic it has gotten.

        • Sabine 10.1.2.1

          ‘All Trump ever wanted was a ‘wall’ to prevent the ILLEGALS from entering, – not the ‘legals’.

          “We know nothing of radicalized, militarized gangs and drug cartels like the Americans do entering their country.”

          oh dear.

          They said the same thing to the East Germans in 1961, and then they build a wall that did nothing more then prevent people from leaving, cause the West Germans were allowed in very easily, 20 bucks a day every day for your stay and you got a visa.
          It was the ones trying to get out that got killed, left to die in the ditches of the no mans land while everyone else just looked on. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/east-germans-kill-man-trying-to-cross-berlin-wall

          it does well to remember that walls are good to keep in as well as keep out.

          Just ask the people of Gaza how that wall is working for them? Or maybe once they are looked up behind a wall we can stop caring for them?

          And who is responsible for the Drug Cartels? Who is responsible for MS13? Surely not the US Americans and their war on Drugs? right?
          And what about the wild live ? What about hte Rio Grande that is effectively a shared border? do you think it will be inside the US American side of hte Wall or outside in the Mexican side of hte Wall?

          and look at us here in NZ with our Gangs. And our drug use. And our drug cartels? And our immigrants that some may not approve of? Shall we to build a wall to keep the undesirables out? And who gets to decide who is an undesirable and a useless one? might it be a white man in a suit?

          Or might it be that it is us who votes for these people that then do nothing more then enrich themselves while not changing a thing. Cause changing would mean progress.

          • WILD KATIPO 10.1.2.1.1

            The Cranberries – Zombie (Official Music Video) – YouTube

            • In Vino 10.1.2.1.1.1

              Wild Katipo – interesting that you should raise President Lyndon B Johnson.
              Trump really has no idea of how to attack the media. Compared to Johnson, he is an inarticulate raver.
              Johnson did it far better – I think he said, “If I walked across the River Potomac, the headlines would scream: ‘President Johnson Can’t Swim!’ ”
              Trump is basically an empty vessel in comparison.

              • Nah , – the only advantage Johnson had over Trump was the lack of digital, computerized messages.

                Far easier to manipulate mass reach with the technology at the time, channeled as it was with simple mono ways of black and white TV broadcasts and radio broadcasts…

                1960’S technology versus 2019 technology.

                And yeah ,… Johnson would’ve drowned under the weight of the industrial / military complex profits with the Bell company on his shoulders… unlike Trump who would have simply caught a ferry…

        • Colin 10.1.2.2

          Agree K.

  10. Peter 11

    “US President Donald Trump can crow all he likes, but he’s not in the clear”

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/111522628/mueller-report-us-president-donald-trump-can-crow-all-he-likes-but-hes-not-in-the-clear

    In the overall picture of things it’s like saying someone who clearly has many maladies does not, for example, have testicular cancer.

    • So also can his detractors’ crow all they like’.

      They’ve dipped out on their only claim to fame.

    • tc 11.2

      Yes Mueller was looking for a certain cancer which he couldn’t prove existed.

      He found plenty of other health issues which aren’t good for the patient (America) but left that with other specialist to treat.

      • marty mars 11.2.1

        Nice analogy

        • WILD KATIPO 11.2.1.1

          Oh ,… and as for you …. do you like Obomba and Hil’s and the arms deals they made to ISIS to enable thousands of deaths, many of which were civilians?

          Second Question:

          Are we to trust people of your persuasion ?

          Nah.

          Here’s one for you.

          Tailored to oppose you and your sort. With the best of British humour to boot.

          Lambeth Walk: Nazi Style – by Charles A. Ridley (1941) – YouTube

          • te reo putake 11.2.1.1.1

            Dude, comparing TS commenters with Nazis is deeply uncool.

            And while I’m here, I’d just like to point out that there is no evidence whatsoever that Hillary Clinton sold weapons to ISIS. Even Wikileaks, who claim to have just about every email she ever sent, haven’t come up with anything and they fucken hate her.

            • WILD KATIPO 11.2.1.1.1.1

              Sorry mate , – but the vitriol aimed at anyone who raises their heads above the parapets and puts anyone’s opinion in favor of Trump on this site has been equally uncool.

              If you were to go back a few years and re read all the nasty , sarcastic, derogatory close down comments submitted by so many you would see what I mean.

              And whats galling is that people have been closed down , abused, railed at to the point all you have been left with is an echo chamber. And that’s sad.

              And yeah , I’m aware of the sly behavior of those online, all too aware. Yet what I said about the far Left and the far Right is applicable; … that if you draw both wings of the same bow so far round they meet in the middle all you get is Totalitarianism.

              Now that’s a tough thing for this generation to grapple with, – we have never actively been called upon to oppose either of those wings in combat . We’ve never had to deal with either. Its always been hidden away from the public and left to our armed services. Just so we can pontificate and play with fire on the sidelines.

              This is what I’m warning about.

              Radicalism in any form. That is deadly.

              I’m sorry its uncool. But this is no game.

              Its not something to just idly throw around ideals on a forum or at the University campus and the notions of utopia , – people die because of a detached presumption of a population far away from the action of warfare.

              And sometimes we all need a wake up call . Radicalism shouldn’t be encouraged either to the Left or the Right. It is always disastrous.

            • marty mars 11.2.1.1.1.2

              At least it gives him a chance to put videos up lol

      • WILD KATIPO 11.2.2

        Mhmm… but to that I say,… those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,… or …

        John 8:7-9 International Standard Version (ISV)

        ( Woman caught in adultery )

        7) When they persisted in questioning him, he straightened up and told them, “Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

        8 ) Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground.

        9 ) When they heard this, they went away one by one, beginning with the oldest, and he was left alone with the woman standing there.

        Try a little kindness.

        – Glenn Campbell.

        • The Al1en 11.2.2.1

          Well if you’re posting fairytale quotes, so am I…

          “Bless the seven little men who have been so kind to me, and—and may my dreams come true. Amen. Oh yes, and please make Grumpy like me.”

          Snow White and the seven dwarfs: Disney

      • cleangreen 11.2.3

        Hillary would have been a disaster for America, so we can thank Trump for keeping her out of power again, as she was bank rolled by corporations and owned by them..

        • Skunk Weed 11.2.3.1

          CG I must agree I think the world has been a safer place under Trump than Billary Hinton ?

          • WILD KATIPO 11.2.3.1.1

            Well,… WW3 hasn’t broken out yet… do we all recall the far Left saying stupid garbage like Hilary will bring us to war in 6 months but Trump will cause WW3 or something to that effect ?

            What a joke.

            Trumps done the exact opposite of that , or at least … headed off a serious crises with North Korea… with now amiable relations with the same… a little like JFK did with Khrushchev…

            Trump deserves to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize instead.

            Something JFK never lived long enough to see….

        • Liberal Realist 11.2.3.2

          Indeed Clinton would have been a disaster for the USA and the rest of the world. However, equally Trump is a disaster for the USA and the rest of the world.

          Trump is just as owned by the corporations and big money as Clinton. It’s simply not possible to obtain an executive position of power in the American Empire without big money backing and approval. They’re all owned.

  11. Yeah well all you Left wing virtue signalling, identity politicking screamers can froth at the mouth all you like… George Soros didn’t shine through.

    Better luck next time for the globalists, huh?

    And if you try a little kindness
    Then you’ll overlook the blindness
    Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets.

    Glen Campbell Try A Little Kindness Live 2002 – YouTube

    • Stuart Munro. 12.1

      Soros is an interesting guy – not just the cartoon cutout Jewish conspiracy stereotype some folks’ PR tries to make him. His analysis of the Asian financial crisis represented a move away from the fundamentalist policy of the World Bank, and was confirmed by the likes of Stiglitz and Krugman.

      Putin just resents Soros’ financial rescue of the Ukraine, a theatre in which he falls somewhat short of innocence himself.

      • WILD KATIPO 12.1.1

        Well , Putin’s Russia being a member of the BRIC nations,… is it any wonder he opposes the Soros narrative?

        And that of NATO / American hegemony in Europe extending into their ‘satellite’ country’s? Does not both America and West Europe do the same?

        Of course they do.

        So as a member of the BRIC nations, we are expected that Russia shall not exercise the same hegemony as the Western attempts with their interests . Interesting. How very interesting.

        Hypocrisy , more like.

        Of course Soros was financially rescuing the Ukraine. What else would we expect him to do? He has long been in favour of an Imperialist West. Those are the very charges leveled against him. An Imperialist , centralized financial and military hegemony. In short , those same aims of the fascist, 60 years previous.

        The subjugation of the Russian East.

        And finally , … the isolation of the Wests last obstacle of a great centralized West united under the militarized U.N and its Western banking system.

        China.

        All that remains is to destroy the BRIC nations independence and introduce a universal currency.

        Globalism complete.

        PS : It hasn’t escaped attention that Trump has chosen to withdraw troops from foreign adventures and call on their European neighbors to damn well supply their own war efforts to ensure their borders are secure…

        And yet all these Lefty screamers accuse HIM of being a war monger…

        L0L !

        What a joke.

        • Stuart Munro. 12.1.1.1

          Well of course there are different frames you can put on the territorial dispute.

          You can, as you have done, assign the Ukraine to Russia’s sphere of influence, or as Wayne would no doubt do, grovel to US policy ambitions. For me however, the Left is about democracy, which means self determination for countries like the Ukraine, irrespective of the wishes of either superpower.

          No doubt the US has been interfering financially in the Ukraine, but the ‘little green men’ in the Crimea and the Russian regular forces in mufti in Donbass show Russia has gone further.

          It’s probably not correct to attribute Soros’ action to imperialism – no western legions have marched into the Ukraine. If that country wants to join Europe it is not with a western gun to their head – their enemy lies to the East.

          Ending US expansionist designs in Syria ought indeed to have been a good thing – but it rather depends who or what takes their place. Despite the RT based squealing of various fan-folk, Assad has not been a particularly enlightened leader of that territory, nor is the record of Russian occupying troops encouraging – for all that since Operation Burnham NZ has chosen to join them in infamy.

          As for Trump’s peacemaking credentials, time, and possibly Venezuela will tell. It doesn’t seem to me that he would decline military action on moral grounds, he has been somewhat consistent in supporting action against Yemen for instance. His departure from Syria smells more of a lack of profitable opportunities than anything the Left might support.

          • WILD KATIPO 12.1.1.1.1

            Some good points,… however,…I WOULD attribute Soros’ action to imperialism. .
            No , he doesn’t have to be in the vanguard of any ‘legions’ to do it. But that’s what hes always been… an encourager and a news-media manipulator… far safer for him. Just use up a few thousand more young men to do his dirty work instead. He’d make a great Roman Senator if he was cast back in time.

            And then consume the accolades in the form that an original Roman senator would then expect, …lands, titles and wealth.

            There’s a reason why ‘USA ‘ expansionist designs were ‘ended’ in Syria… and that was because there was a change in the Presidency. Out went Obomba and in came Trump. And so it was more or less left to the Kurd’s and the Russians to continue on.

            The Golden Goose of the Clinton Foundation and its funneling of arms to ISIS dried up. Whether Assad ‘has not been a particularly enlightened leader of that territory’ ,… or not. Having one side say they are ‘ working for you’ but then by proxy doing the exact opposite and profiteering from arming your enemy’s is worse than trying to run on a broken leg when it comes to reliance….

            As for the record of ‘Russian occupying troops not being encouraging’… were the Americans under Hilary and Obomba any better?… no . They were shackled with hypocrisy.

            Venezuela?… anyone’s guess.

            But I don’t think we will see any overt invasion. Virtually no chance of that. If there were to be any overthrowing of the govt there we would expect to see the CIA and their advisers operating in that country with plenty of arms provided. Maybe even from the Clinton Foundation. In fact , … what a perfect way to conduct business.

            A few flash riots and hunger strikers, a few more occupations of strategic govt buildings, a few more flash mobs waving arms and munitions against the govt,… you get the picture.

            That way plausible deniability is 100% guaranteed.

            But no , I don’t think you will see Trumps hand in that,… but what you may see… is those who oppose him do those things…

            Bay of Pigs.

            JFK.

            • Stuart Munro. 12.1.1.1.1.1

              A little too conspiratorial for me WK.

              But then I knew a fair bit about Soros before he became a social media artifact. If there were substantial evidence of Hillary funding ISIS, that would’ve surfaced in Trump’s struggle to get elected. You’ve perhaps been distracted by the sustained antiHillary campaign.

              “were the Americans under Hillary and Obomba any better?… no .” I guess you’re not up on zatchistka. Friend of mine was on the ground in Chechnya. The population halved during the Russian invasion, and not by migration. Rape was SOP. Bad as the US are, the Russians are worse, just as the Japanese were during world war 2.

              You’re right that Venezuela is a long term project – but we’re not seeing anything from Trump to wind it back. It’s the media frenzy that suggests action is imminent – an analogue of the increased signals traffic that classically precedes an invasion.

              • …’ You’ve perhaps been distracted by the sustained antiHillary campaign’…

                Interesting.

                It always trikes me as interesting how both John Pilger and Julian Assange were the darlings of the Left before Trump came to power…
                And are the dreaded Ruskies actually worse?

                Really ?

                No. I don’t think so. In media coverage , quite possibly.

                But not in reality.

                … ” You’re right that Venezuela is a long term project – but we’re not seeing anything from Trump to wind it back ” …

                Of cause, … I’ve already laid it out with the whys and the wherefores… what more has to be said ?

                But finally we see the answer… the one we’ve all been waiting on…

                … ” It’s the media frenzy that suggests action is imminent ”…

                And there we have it.

                And who will precipitate that ‘ invasion’ ? ( bearing in mind that the Russians beat them to it ? ) certainly not Donald J Trump,…. but those easily picked off as it was in JFK’s time…. those agency’s that do not operate under any Federal govt restrictions….and who are easily named and shamed if anything should go wrong…

                Just like it was…. in the days of JFK.

                The Speech That Got JFK Killed – John F Kennedy’s Secret … – YouTube

                • And from his predecessor , …

                  Ike Eisenhower.

                  Eisenhower Farewell Address (Full) – YouTube

                  • Eisenhower , and his successor Kennedy , … knew full well of the balance of weight between a rapacious private military industrial complex and the balances of freedom and democracy.

                    Trump is similar.

                    This is why Trump is holding back. Much to the chagrin of those of the extreme Left who want him to move so they can fire their rounds and accuse him of something he didn’t commit to.

                    As for Venezuela?…. the Russians beat him to it.

                    Lets see the ‘woke Left’ explain this one away conveniently.

                    • Ike Eisenhower , one of the last great American Presidents.

                      Such a sad miscarriage of freedom and justice that his successor, JFK… was brutally murdered .

                      And like those, … President Donald J Trump,… yet realizing the forces arrayed against him, … is confronted by those very same that would use deception , subversion and a runaway private sector to subvert the institution of the Presidency ,…is now confronting the very same things that Eisenhower warned about in his farewell speech.

                      60 years ago.

                      Think about it.

                • Stuart Munro.

                  The Left split on Assange well before Trump – a calculated divide was orchestrated over allegations of rape.

                  But the consequence left Assange vulnerable, and ultimately he was partially captured by Russia as a fast way to release material into the West. This is fairly apparent to all players.

                  Venezuela is complicated by Russian and Chinese involvement – it is no longer a typical south American pushover, and if Guaido were installed it might happen that he got uninstalled pdq.

                  Pilger lost a lot of cred endorsing Putin. Didn’t do his homework on Chechnya. Moscow bombings/Chechen genocide/Moscow theatre gassing/Beslan are all on Putin. Can’t make anything good out of a genocidal kleptocrat. Having chosen Putin, Pilger then has to support Assad, overlook gassing and bombing of civilian dissent.

                  A lot of the deserved blame Hillary gets is over Libya. The US position there will have been payback for Lockerby. No tears would be shed for any state associated with that. Wasn’t a smart campaign though.

                  None of which makes Trump any better – an absolute shitheel unfit for elected office. But the Republicans have gone too far, are unable to unload or back away from him.

    • marty mars 12.2

      Its sorta funny how you love bigfoot and small hands.

      • WILD KATIPO 12.2.1

        Its sort of funny how you have no analytical ability and are always the first to resort to puerile schoolboy put downs when you have no real answers to give.

        Try harder next time please.

        PS: Apparently Sasquatch have big hands…

        • WILD KATIPO 12.2.1.1

          Here’s something soothing for you to take a deep breath with ,… a bit before your time judging by your frenetic rabid post Uni political science radicalized days….

          A little kindness, if you will…

          Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygene Part 1 (Vinyl, 1977) – YouTube

        • marty mars 12.2.1.2

          Just some humor mate chillax eh. Bigfoot and small handed trump was my angle.

          • WILD KATIPO 12.2.1.2.1

            Failed bad matey… no such parallel.

            • marty mars 12.2.1.2.1.1

              Lol – have you ever seen them in the same room at the same time?

              • The truth is out there!

              • cleangreen

                What a lot of cobblers you speak Marty; – go back to mars they need you we hear..

                Trump=”No obstruction of justice”.

                Hear that clearly?

                • marty mars

                  Why do you think he’s got everyone looking at his hands – ever seen t.rumps feet? One photo? Nah suppressed mate.

                  • Do you have a hand and foot fetish?

                    Look,… perhaps ,… in about 30 years you will grow out of it. Until then , try and cope the best you can and keep it under control. Just so long as you don’t let it grow into a ponytail fetish.

                    Am I making sense?

                    Thank you.

                    I know I got through.

                    Now go and work on it.

                    • marty mars

                      one photo, just one of his feet – pretty easy if any exist.

                    • You are quite stupid. Why are you a regular on this site?… are you seeking to get me banned by attempting to anger me? Is that your sole purpose and aim?

                      Fail, mate.

                      Isn’t going to happen. Try engaging in something more cognitive.

                      Lightning years ahead of you .

                      🙂

                      Anyways , last post to the moron ,… as the issues have now moved on. Have you not noticed?

                  • McFlock

                    lol 6’3″ orange wonder standing next to 6’1″ Barack Obama.

                    https://pics.me.me/confused-squint-63-donald-trump-pictured-next-to-61-barack-30339328.png

                    • Venezuela crisis: Russian troops in Caracas threaten US intervention …
                      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12216107

                      … ‘The US State Department has openly backed opposition leader Juan Guaido. But President Nicolas Maduro maintains control over the military.

                      In January, Guaido declared himself interim president, saying Maduro’s re-election last year was rigged. Maduro alleges that Guaido is a collaborator in a US-directed plot to overthrow him’ …

                      AHAHAHAHAHAAAA !

                      You people don’t even know which side you back anymore… 🙂

                      You do realize that Juan Guaido is a right wing stooge , don’t you?

                      You do realize that supporting him supports the very far right wing idiots you profess to oppose, DON’T YOU ?

                      Guaido declared himself interim president… HAHAHAHAHAAAAA!

                      Saying Maduro’s re-election last year was rigged.

                      The return of the Batista’s. L00L !

                      All this talk of bashing Trump and Putin interfering with the USA’s election…. L0L !

                      Man ,…you people need to lose your Varsity idealism and get into the REAL world of geopolitics. This is amazing.

                    • McFlock

                      Had a bit much of the Peruvian Marching Powder today, have we?

                    • The Al1en

                      “Man ,…you people need to lose your Varsity idealism and get into the REAL world of geopolitics. This is amazing.”

                      From a 3% and falling NZ1st fanatic, that’s funny.
                      What is it you know that the other 97% doesn’t? 😆

                      If only Winston had a little bit of that real world geopolitics nous, he wouldn’t have flown half way around the world to be tucked up by Erk the berk Turk.

                    • Learn your history , kids,- this aint no game !

                      Dragon – ‘April Sun In Cuba’ – YouTube

                    • Yeah the die hard’s defending to the last L0L0L0L !

                      Funny to watch, … bring on all, bring on anything to defend their crumbling , failing anti Trump narrative.

                      And as far as Winston goes,… yeah mate I guess you could’ve done better.

                      Yeah you got all the answers.

                      Just don’t get too confused who you back when it comes time to make the rules for the children’s sandpit. Because ,… seriously?… that’s what so many of you seem to sound like.

                    • The Al1en

                      I would have remembered to mention the death video – One of the main reasons of travelling in the first place.
                      Senile old fucker has just diddled himself in public… Like Shane Jones did, like you’re doing. 😉

                    • And do you honestly think Donald Trump is going to overtly intervene in Venezuela???

                      I mean ,… seriously?

                      Don’t you think its the same old crowd that’ll be chafing at the bit to have a reprise at a Bay of Pigs type escapade???

                      Like really ???

                      When JFK threatened to ‘smash the CIA into a thousand pieces’…

                      And yet all this angst is being conducted by the US State Department , – not Trump?

                      Learn from history.

                      The next USA President that may intervene in Venezuela may very well be the next far right wing President you claim to fear.

                      Trump will seem like a benevolent moderate by comparison.

                    • The Al1en

                      I know the truth is hard, and the grim reality’s of life versus your pet most cherished ideals is a shocking harsh landing… but please refrain from the lewd….

                      I realize it must be hard to be so disillusioned ,… but this is real life,… not some pantomime constructed within the safe confines of the University lecture halls.

                      Give it time…

                      Much time.

                      You will grow.

                      News to hand is always a shock.

                    • McFlock

                      lols

                    • The Al1en

                      “lols”

                      Yep. A case of I’ll see your tirade of broken thinking and raise you the most artistic middle finger ever.

                    • Yes lolsey wolsey wolsey…

                      All you and your ilk can ever do when you run out of answers…

                      Tell me,… was that one of the examples of your smart ass repertoires of answers that you gave your political science tutors , who then downgraded your papers with a ‘C’ ? ,…and you were thereafter and forever embittered against ?

                      I understand now.

                      Never mind. Give it time.

                      Old wounds heal slowly.

                      But you will get over it. And then reason and reality will be yours.

                      Trust me.

                    • McFlock

                      You seriously wanted a response to that stream of consciousness bullshit which was launched, let me just remind you, in response to a funny observation that dolt45 seems to lose two inches in height as soon as he leaves the doctor’s office?

                      I just thought you’d had an attack of rhetorical diarrhoea.

                      In no particular order:
                      I don’t give a fuck about Venezuela – one arsehole fighting another arsehole, each favoured by another arsehole.

                      Dolt45 is a fucking moron who has chosen the individual worst people for each portfolio in his cabinet. V is down to Bolton – you don’t think that’s dolt45’s idea, do you?

                      The dolt45 narrative is hardly failing when that many of his associates are doing time in prison. It’s a process. that process is not complete.

                      And you are still either doing too much drugs, or not enough.

                    • McFlock

                      You have no answers, no perspectives, just abuse and rhetoric. Like a few others here who are bored.

                      No evidence of how things will logically play out, just abuse.

                      A screamer, no less… so I played you at your own game… but its getting boring now.

                      Tootle loo.

                    • McFlock

                      You were barking well before I commented, fool.

                    • Sorry to upset your apple cart , mate.

                      Are you a twenty something fresh out from Uni full of ideas of how the world is supposed to run for your millennial convenience, mate?

                      Sorry to disappoint.

                      Do a little more training in history and diplomacy , bud.

                      You might learn a thing or two.

                      England’s a good place to start , …from there on towards Rome , maybe even the ramifications of the Black Death and Unionism, or perhaps even the war of the Roses, … or even the tapestry of Bayeux or the the writings of the Domesday book…

                      History… a great teacher and educator of the great unlearned… to which you seem to be part off and in need of basic tutor-age …

                    • McFlock

                      lol swing and a miss. Dr Lecter.

                      If we’re trading reading recommendations the other might benefit from, I suggest you start with the collected works of Dr Seuss. Dude used words sparingly, but that son of a bitch understood how to structure prose and take a single idea to its conclusion. Read and learn.

                    • LOL!

                      You’ve got nothing.

                      All bluster and no substance.’

                      No historical comparisons, no immediate comparisons.

                      You are empty. Voided.

                      Nothing at all.

                      Just abuse.

                    • marty mars

                      Close but the Dr was a bit more –

                      “LOL I say I say lol

                      Take your words far away I don’t need them today

                      You have nothing and nothing you’ve got

                      All bluster and no substance and that’s not a lot.

                      No historical comparisons, no immediate comparisons.

                      No standard aquariums or happy solariums

                      You are empty I say and I ask you to go away

                      Nothing at all. No foot for the ball, no dawn before day.

                      Just abuse so obtuse and unkind words that don’t rhyme

                      You and I both know you’re wasting your time

                      so I say lol and lol I say

                      take your words far away I don’t need them today”

                    • McFlock

                      heh nice

  12. Yep , just as I said.

    Confirmation.

    No answers but schoolyard silliness.

    The case is now rested.

  13. Tiger Mountain 14

    So, the “Comb over in Chief” squiggles out again, according to his Attorney General anyway.

    The “Buck” strangely enough seems to have stopped with certain of Mr Trump’s underlings and hangers on, who are now doing prison time or likely to, in the near future.

    • Deal with it.

      That’s the price of democracy.

      Or being honest.

      W’eve had our own fair share of skulduggery in our own so called Left wing and Right wing party’s.

    • Didn’t happen.

      And ?

    • The Al1en 15.2

      Yep, would be seen as a damning indictment on the potus’ regime.

      It still is, of course, but the near constant stream of arrests, charges, convictions and sentencing may have diluted the bam factor for those with a short attention span.

  14. RedLogix 16

    In a global world the idea that any nation can hold an election in a pristine vacuum, without external influence is a delusion. In so many very obvious ways all countries are tightly linked socially, technically and economically … yet we pretend that politically they are not.

    It’s kind of weird really.

    • And only held in esteem by first the naive , and then the idealists.

      Of which , sadly , diplomats have been well aware of since before the founding of Rome.

      Much growing up needed.

  15. AB 17

    Looks like the Mueller investigation has made Trump stronger.
    The Democratic Party will demonstrate their centrist uselessness and compound the error of starting this investigation in the first place by nominating Biden and losing the election. Republican voter-suppression tactics will go into overdrive.
    It’s going to get nasty, 2024 is a long way away and we have no certainty that a Trump presidency will end tidily or voluntarily even then.

    Whether we will be able to insulate ourselves from it is the worrying question – what will a second-term Trump do with trade and China relations? Will our recent stand on gun control make us a terrorist target from the lunatic supporters of an emboldened Republican right?

    • …” and we have no certainty that a Trump presidency will end tidily or voluntarily even then ” …

      Wont do either, – it will follow the same track as JFK , – minus the assassination. Regarding not overtly supporting the fall of Venezuela’s President .

      All Trump has to do is withdraw the same as JFK in the Bay of Pigs. Then round upon the intelligence agency’s if things go pear shaped. And subvert those demographics hostile to him. He’s safe. Hes looked into JFK’s mistakes.

      … ” what will a second-term Trump do with trade and China relations? ” …

      Probably collapse any hard line Bric financial commitments leaving Russia as a stand alone representative. Of which , Trump will be more than happy to oblige. Its all about the balance of power.

      One which seems at first combative, but is in effect,… absolutely compatible.

      Win / win,… both the old Soviet bloc wins and holds power in its traditional satellites, and one which conveniently balances the USA with its so called ‘ allies’ in Europe. Only China is left in isolation,… and financial dependence.

      Thus we see the continuance of the Western Square Mile of London maintaining its financial ’eminence’.

  16. THE END GAME.

    In Call to Abolish CIA, Sanders Followed JFK’s Cue – The Intercept
    https://theintercept.com/…/in-1974-call-to-abolish-cia-sanders-followed-in-footsteps-o..

    There is no more argument.

    Learn little children or get on home.

  17. “Get On Home” sung by members of the Manson Family – YouTube

    • Sabine 19.1

      oh well, just as a reminder

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

      The Tate murders were a mass murder conducted by members of the Manson Family on August 8–9, 1969, which claimed the lives of five people. Four members of the Family invaded the rented home of married celebrity couple, actress Sharon Tate and director Roman Polanski at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles. They murdered Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant, along with three friends who were visiting at the time, and an 18-year-old visitor, who was slain as he was departing the home.

      • WILD KATIPO 19.1.1

        All it goes to show is the deceptiveness of using a Left wing movement as a cover for far right thinking by Manson. A confirmed racist and murderous political activist.

        It was used as a way to discredit by established authority’s ,… a popular movement in the late 1960’s by the Left of that of communal living ,…by holding up a supposed extreme variance. And it worked.

        What it did show, – was that neither extreme Left or extreme Right views were any less guilty than the charges put before them. BOTH ,… are capable of the very same thing.

        Which is , … what I have been all about for those with the perception , intelligence and willingness to abandon partisan points of view…

        The My Lai Massacre Is Retold By Only Survivor – YouTube

      • WILD KATIPO 19.1.2

        Oh , the 18 year old you didn’t name was Steven Parent , who Watson shot with a .22-caliber revolver .

        He was the visitor.

        Consigned to history as just a minor victim in the sordid tale. A wonderful young man with his whole life ahead of him…

  18. All I can say is this:

    2 Corinthians 7:10

    ‘For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death ‘.

    Romans 12:2

    ‘ And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect ‘.

    And finish off with what may be unacceptable to some but which talks about environmentalism and simple values,… derived from a southern rock band deliberately juxtaposed to inspire thoughts on the outrageous-ness of the message of the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

    Lynyrd Skynyrd-All i can do is write about it – YouTube

    • In other words we had people who had gone through the American civil war, who originally were led by one of the most brilliant generals… Robert E lee. Who didn’t fight for slavery but rather the agrarian southern way of life.

      Moreover , a reluctance to bear arms , but to protect his homelands.

      And so he did.

      Who was well aware of the devious Northerner who ingratiated his way into the ranks of the Southern Army, – Albert Pike ( 33rd degree Mason ) who was a go – between with the Northern states wanting to foment war with Mexico to annex those lands…

      Then there was the ‘reconstruction ‘ era.., and all the violence that ensured on both sides. There were a lot of former slaves who fought for the South. This was their new home. Yet is was during the reconstruction era and the Unionists using of these episodes to mask their dependence on the Souths agrarian produce . They , and their London based financiers really set the tone of the myth of the racist South… hypocrites.

      But it was from the jazz players of the 20th century , the early blues players, that the spirit of reconciliation came… they acknowledged the harm done by them… and yet triumphed.

      What a marvelous legacy of hardship yet forgiveness they gave us. If we could but learn from people who had really done things hard…

      Sam Lightnin’ Hopkins – Cotton – YouTube

  19. Andre 22

    Parsing the weasel room Barr may have put between what he said and what Mueller may have said …

    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/03/mueller-report-barr-summary-obstruction-conspiracy-close-reading.html?via=homepage_taps_top

  20. Sabine 23

    nepotism? say it ain’t so 🙂

    https://abovethelaw.com/2019/02/bill-barr-nepotism-corruption/

    “Mary Daly, Barr’s oldest daughter and the director of Opioid Enforcement and Prevention Efforts in the deputy attorney general’s office, is leaving for a position at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Treasury Department’s financial crimes unit, a Justice official said.

    Tyler McGaughey, the husband of Barr’s youngest daughter, has been detailed from the powerful US attorney’s office in Alexandria, Virginia, to the White House counsel’s office, two officials said.”

  21. Sanctuary 24

    This whole fizzled out schemozzle is what happens when you substitute a febrile atmosphere of permanent identity politics outrage for actual policies. The mainstream House Democrats have got no one to blame but themselves once this fell flat on it’s face – this is the House Democrat equivalent of the damp squib Kim Dotcom served up at his “great reveal”.

    The lesson to take from it all is to focus on policies. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won’t fall silent, because she talks about medicare, the Green new deal, gun reform, and the whole progressive agenda.

    the aging boomers and assorted geriatrics that make up most of the corrupt House Democrats aint got nothing now.

    And anyway, in a hysterical atmosphere of partisan “he said, she said’ fed by the Fox News propaganda network – which has monetised division, hate and anger and fear as it’s business model – NOTHING emanating from this probe was going to change the mind of Trump supporters , and watching Washington bubble work itself into a lather over what has turned out to be not much isn’t going persuade laid off aerospace workers in Ohio to vote democrat either.

  22. joe90 25

    Because innocent people always try to blacklist dissenting voices and block the release of the report that supposedly exonerates them.

    https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1110292551758741505

    https://twitter.com/jonathanvswan/status/1110254539163291648

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    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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
    17 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
    20 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
    1 day 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 ...
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    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 ...
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    7 days ago
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    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 ...
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  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

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  • '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 ...
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