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July 25, 2014 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 25 July 2014

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Yoza

‘Disgustingly Biased’ – The Corporate Media On The Gaza Massacre

Soon after Malaysian Airlines MH17 crashed near Donetsk, Ukraine on July 18, killing 298 people, the BBC website quickly, and rightly, set up a ‘LIVE’ feed with rolling reports and commentary on the disaster. This was clearly an important and dramatic event involving horrific loss of life with serious political implications. The public would, of course, be searching for the latest news.
However, since July 8, ten days prior to the crash, Israeli armed forces had been bombarding the trapped civilian population of Gaza with airstrikes, drone strikes and naval shelling. As the massive Israeli assault ramped up on July 9, the World section of the BBC News website had this as its headline:

‘Israel under renewed Hamas attack’

By July 18, around 300 people had been killed in Gaza, 80% of them civilians. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a key political issue of our time, one that was clearly developing by the minute after July 8. And yet at no point had the BBC set up a ‘LIVE’ feed with rolling news.
That finally changed on July 20 after so many days in which so many Palestinians had been killed. Why July 20? The answer appears to be found in the fourth entry of the live feed under the title ‘Breaking News’:

‘Some 13 Israeli soldiers were killed overnight in Gaza, news agencies, quoting Israeli military sources, say. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address the nation shortly.’

Despite this small number of military deaths compared to the Palestinian toll, it seems clear that the killing of the Israeli troops triggered the BBC live feed. It focused intensely on these deaths, with entries of this kind:

‘Ben White, writer tweets: Israel has lost more soldiers in a 3 day old ground offensive than it did during Cast Lead & Pillar of Defense combined (12).’

And:

‘View to the Mid East, a writer in Ashdod, Israel tweets: One of the soldiers who was killed in Gaza tonight prays at the same synagogue I go to. Grew up in the same neighbourhood.’

The feed incorporated no less than five photographs from two funerals of the Israeli soldiers but none from the far more numerous Palestinian funerals (one picture showed Palestinian relatives collecting a body from a morgue), with these captions:

‘Friends and relatives of Israeli Sergeant Adar Barsano mourn during his funeral at the military cemetery in the northern Israeli city of Nahariya.’

And:

‘Sagit Greenberg, the wife of Israeli soldier Maj Amotz Greenberg, mourns during his funeral in the central town of Hod Hasharon.’

Obviously, Israeli suffering also merits compassion, but these military deaths were overshadowed by a far higher loss of Palestinian lives, most of them civilian men, women and children. The toll currently stands at 746 Palestinians killed and 4,640 wounded. Israel has suffered 32 military and two civilian deaths. One foreign worker from Thailand has also been killed.
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July 25, 2014 8:01am
big bruv

Yoza

If you want this to stop then you would be far better to spend your time imploring Hamas to stop lobbing rockets into Israel.

It really is as simple as that.
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July 25, 2014 8:04am
Pete George

John Armstrong on Gerry Brownlee: Offer to quit should have been taken – Brownlee broke rules of his own portfolio with airport breach and must face music.

The Prime Minister should have accepted Gerry Brownlee’s offer to resign his Transport portfolio for breaching airport security regulations.

The Transport portfolio includes responsibility for civil aviation. If the minister responsible for the rules covering airport security cannot be bothered abiding by those rules, why should anyone else feel they have to.

His being a minister also put airport security staff in a compromising position – and that is also unacceptable. As a minimum. John Key should have relieved Brownlee of the portfolio on a temporary basis until the Civil Aviation Authority’s investigation has ascertained exactly what happened – something which should take only a day or so at most. To some extent, however, Brownlee has – to his credit – pre-empted that investigation by admitting he was in the wrong and the one who is to blame.

Like anyone else, Brownlee should not receive any special treatment and should face the potential legal consequences of his actions.

Cabinet ministers, however, also have to set an example. Otherwise the rule of law is rendered meaningless.

I think Armstrong makes a fair point.

Brownlee has handed over responsibility of CAA to the Associate Minister but some level of reprimand should be seen to be given over this breach of airport rules.
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July 25, 2014 8:04am
Keeping Stock

Kudos to Kate Hawkesby for sticking up for her hubby. David Cunliffe has bought himself and Labour into a battle they cannot win.

On Tuesday Cunliffe promised that he and his MP’s would “stick to the Labour knitting and make sure everybody hears the same stuff at the same time.” Now, it looks more like nit-picking…

http://keepingstock.blogspot.co.nz/2014/07/hell-hath-no-fury.html
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July 25, 2014 8:05am
thedavincimode

Another very funny week in G**zone politics. We’re certainly getting to know “Dave”; that’s for sure.

Who would have thought that this is what he had in mind in terms of “letting people in”. Perhaps he would be best advised to let the people out again.
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July 25, 2014 8:08am
peterwn

Pete George – I would prefer to wait for the matter to be investigated before passing judgment. The allied issue is why the ‘secure’ areas did not seem to be secure.
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July 25, 2014 8:12am
Nukuleka

Sent an email to Gerry this morning shortly after 6.00 am to express my disappointment and to say I would be holding him to account if the next round of polls show a dip in National support. Impressively, a reply- full of abject apology- received from him by 7.00 am. Pretty good and clearly sincere from him. Keep on wearing the hair shirt, Gerry. John Key does not need this kind of thoughtless nonsense 2 months prior to the election!
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July 25, 2014 8:15am
Lance

@PG
Hands up those that don’t think domestic air travel security is laughable.
So the airports that turbo-prop aircraft land at have no security whatsoever but this is OK?
So turbo-props are harmless compared to a 737?

Yes there are the rules.. the rules… the rules.. we must have the rules….
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July 25, 2014 8:15am
OneTrack

KS – Labour are sticking to their knitting – gotcha politics., whining about every thing, complaining the all the news media are not as supportive as Campbell, etc
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July 25, 2014 8:15am
jackinabox

“Like anyone else, Brownlee should not receive any special treatment and should face the potential legal consequences of his actions.”

Hello Mr McCready!
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July 25, 2014 8:16am
oldpark

Three cheers for Cunliffe coming out of the closet,proving once and for all he really is the coward of the county.Running scared so afraid that in the TV debates John Key might ,expose his completely lack of common sense and leadership.One would think Cunliffe would go on the Labour Party Channel TVNZ.After all the same channels premises that allowed Cunliffe and his sycophants run Labour Party meetings,all paid for by the NZ TAXPAYER.Cunliffe is using Mike Hoskins as an excuse to duck debating election issues with John Key.
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July 25, 2014 8:18am
Harriet

Yoza#

“That’s what it’s like,” says the daughter, “and it never ends.”

The son, a teenager, says, “It’s all I’ve known my whole life. Rockets falling. Mortars.”

“Thirteen years!” says the daughter, “What country in the world would put up with that? Thirteen years of rocket attacks? Would the Americans let that happen to I don’t know, San Diego, New York?…Texas? For thirteen years? Would France put up with that? Would England? What do you think Putin would do? And we’re supposed to ‘show restraint.’ Show restraint?! How much more restrained can we be? For thirteen years we’ve been under attack! Even after the last two operations in 2009 and 20012, when there was supposedly a ceasefire.”

“What ceasefire?” the mother says. “Every month Hamas would fire a rocket here, a rocket there, ten rockets, twenty in a month….”

“And Israel said, well it’s only a few rockets a week, so we can’t react to that,” says the son.

“A few rockets a week? Is the whole world insane?” the daughter says, Are they all crazy? Listen to that, only a few rockets a week and for them that’s normal! That’s how we’re supposed to live! Only a few rockets a week! Only what they call a drizzle of rockets! And we were restrained. We didn’t do anything because after all it’s only a few rockets! And I don’t even care about the rockets! But the tunnels, now! The terrorist tunnels. Right out there!”

She points to her front door, “Right out there!”

“You know what happened here today?” the son says.

“They tried to attack again. The terrorists.” The daughter says, “They came up out of a tunnel that just opened up in the ground. The army got some of them but then said that two were still on the loose so they tell you to go into the fortified room and lock the door.”

“Do you have any weapons in the house?” I ask

“What weapon?” she says, “They have anti-tank missiles with them! Anti tank missiles that can rip a tank apart and kill everyone inside, except this isn’t a tank. It’s my home!”

“So why do you stay here?” I ask.

“It’s our home!” the son says.
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July 25, 2014 8:20am
SPC

The old maxim has come true.

Hand over too much power to someone and they begin to act as if the normal restraints no longer apply to them.

Brownlee’s (the Commissar of Christchurch) actions were inevitable.
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July 25, 2014 8:23am
bringbackdemocracy

Cunliffe’s hypocrisy exposed again

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11298630
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July 25, 2014 8:25am
UglyTruth

If you want this to stop then you would be far better to spend your time imploring Hamas to stop lobbing rockets into Israel.

By RICHARD SALE, UPI Terrorism Correspondent
June 18, 2002

Israel and Hamas may currently be locked in deadly combat, but, according to several current and former U.S. intelligence officials, beginning in the late 1970s, Tel Aviv gave direct and indirect financial aid to Hamas over a period of years.

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2002/06/18/Analysis-Hamas-history-tied-to-Israel/UPI-82721024445587/
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July 25, 2014 8:26am
Judith

Pete George (22,755 comments) says:
July 25th, 2014 at 8:04 am

I like Gerry – always have, and have stated I think he is one of the better National MP’s. But on this one, although he was right to apologise, I don’t think it is a sackable offence. However, I do think the matter needs to be dealt with in the same way it would have been handled if it was you or I that had done the same. The public, especially given the last few years of parliamentary games, needs to know that our politicians are just as accountable for mistakes as we are.

It is a tricky one, because of Gerry’s responsibilities and therefore his assumed knowledge. When a police officer commits a crime they are frequently dealt with in a harsher manner, because they, more than others, know the law, and in their position are regarded as role models. That could apply to Gerry. However, should he, a fallible human being, be treated differently, when all are ‘equal’ ?

If the matter is dropped, and Gerry is not charged, it will follow him through his career. Gerry is certainly between a ‘rock and a hard place’ on this one – and joins the many people that in order to save a couple of minutes will spend a lifetime apologizing.
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July 25, 2014 8:29am
Manolo

The trougher should have said money instead: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11298596

Farewell to another racist: go away, Pita Sharples.
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July 25, 2014 8:30am
jackinabox

“This is no minor matter. Avoiding security screening is a serious offence which carries a fine of up to $3000 and up to two months in prison.

Like anyone else, Brownlee should not receive any special treatment and should face the potential legal consequences of his actions.

Cabinet ministers, however, also have to set an example. Otherwise the rule of law is rendered meaningless.”

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&obj
ectid=11298716
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July 25, 2014 8:32am
SPC

Hosking is as politically bent a commentator as one can be, however that is somewhat irrelevant to hosting debates as hosts should be operating to a set format of questions and topics – and thus have little room to manipulate what occurs. Cunliffe and Labour must know this – so why this non issue sideshow?
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July 25, 2014 8:33am
Other_Andy

Four times in recent days, Hamas fighters emerged from the tunnels in the vicinity of Israeli civilian communities. Hamas sent teams of fighters (dressed in Israeli uniforms) into four tunnels from Gaza that came up not far from dining rooms of several kibbutzim inside Israel. The concrete-lined structures are stocked with materials, such as handcuffs and tranquilizers that could be used on hostages. They wanted to grab or kill as many civilians as possible. For them, success means killing or abducting the enemy, grabbing a headline, not building anything.
Other tunnels in northern Gaza are designed for the storage and firing of missiles at Israeli cities. Hamas and Hizballah have not built anything but tunnels and bunkers. Al-Qaeda and its copy-cats have not built anything, not a road or one school. Most of the imported cement in Gaza has gone to line tunnels two or three miles long.
The resources devoted by Hamas to this project are staggering, particularly in view of Gaza’s extreme poverty. By one Israeli account, the typical tunnel cost $1 million to build over the course of several years, using tons of concrete desperately needed for civilian housing. By design, many of the tunnels have entrances in the heavily populated Shijaiyah district, where the Israeli offensive has been concentrated. One was found underneath al-Wafa hospital, where Hamas also located a command post and stored weapons, according to Israeli officials.

These are the people Yoza supports.
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July 25, 2014 8:35am
Manolo

The sub-Standard divas are outraged Key is on the cover of Rugby News magazine: http://rugbynews.co.nz/

It is a shame that the cost of the magazine will not be counted towards National’s election spend. Because a clearer example of party propaganda you will never see.
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July 25, 2014 8:36am
jackinabox

It wasn’t that long ago that Israel had settlements in Gaza. Now I get why they pulled them out, aye andy?
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July 25, 2014 8:39am
EAD

No mention at all on Kiwiblog on yet another interest rate rise by the Reserve Bank?

Perhaps National Party supporters are trying to pretend that Governor Graeme Wheeler was wrong to act to tame the rampant inflation cause by the big spending National Government. These rate rises reflect just how poorly the Nats have been leading our government over the past 6 years with eye-watering house prices caused by their open door immigration policies and an economy an government drowning in debt.

The scary thing is, if the economy keeps on crashing as the dollar tanks, I worry people will vote in the even further left Labour Party and things will go from bad to worse rather than vote for the two parties who might actually put country before party and stop trying to bribe the electorate with money we haven’t got on things we can’t afford.

Memo to the Nats – Inflation does not cause growth
http://mises.org/daily/6691/Inflation-Does-Not-Produce-Economic-Growth
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July 25, 2014 8:40am
Pete George

To anyone who is interested here are the videos ad draft transcripts of veledictory speeches from two MPs who have represented their constituencies very well.

Hon Dr Pita Sharples – Valedictory Statement

Hon Tariana Turia – Valedictory Statement

Both are widely respected for how they have represented their people.
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July 25, 2014 8:42am
Other_Andy

jackinabox (558 comments) says:

“It wasn’t that long ago that Israel had settlements in Gaza. Now I get why they pulled them out!”

Yep, Gaza is Judenrein again, like most of the Middle East.
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July 25, 2014 8:46am
Keeping Stock

@ Manolo – as as they sit there, feeling sorry for themselves, the polls continue to fall. Matthew Hooten tweeted yesterday morning that private polling of 150 voters on Wednesday night had Labour at 17% support. The old jokes about the Greens becoming the main opposition party suddenly don’t seem so funny.
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July 25, 2014 8:49am
tom hunter

The BBC are pro-Israel? That must come as a hell of shock to its journalists and editors?

Fortunately for Yoza there’s always Al Jazeera. Some of their current news highlights:
– UN shelter in Gaza ‘struck by Israeli shells’
– Has Israel committed war crimes in Gaza?
– Israel facing new divestment support in US
– In Pictures: Destruction and devastation in Gaza
– In Pictures: Childbirth under Israeli attack
– Israeli court rejects Bedouin request for bomb shelter

And that’s just the website. The live channel is even more focused. It’s all Hamas all the time, which is exactly what you’d expect from the country that funds Al Jazeera – and also fund Hamas. And Al Jazeera has global reach, in the case of NZ a reach that exceeds that of the BBC. I’m watching Al Jazeera on Freeview NZ right now and they’re often playing in the Auckland City Council waiting rooms I visit, rather as CNN was over a decade ago.

I’m sure Yoza will be glad to know that the awful pro-Yid BBC is not on Freeview NZ.
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July 25, 2014 8:50am
peterwn

Lance – Current airport security requirements arose out of 9/11 especially noting the larger the plane the more damage it is capable of inflicting. If turbo-props are to be included the issue becomes where should the line be drawn – should all flights be subject to security? Presumably as airports are re-modelled, security arrangements will be streamlined and perhaps a higher portion of flights will be subject to security.

In NZ’s case the issue becomes one of whether domestic flight security is necessary anyway, presumably NZ would become excessively vulnerable if it dropped such security.

There could be similar thoughts about the need for security agencies in NZ. But if something major occurs, the question arises of why the matter was not foreseen or in the event of a major crime why investigations were hamstrung by over-restrictive laws.
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July 25, 2014 8:50am
Lance

It was all surreal last night on TVone news
Cunliffe was bleating and moaning about Hosking etc and Russell Norman was saying it was all no big deal.

So when did the Greens become the voice of reason and Labour become unhinged?
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July 25, 2014 8:52am
Griff

Their people
That is the problem.
Its us and them for Maori.
We have a government for all of us.
Not one for us and them on racial lines.
Apartheid.
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July 25, 2014 8:52am
James Stephenson

Why aren’t they making more of the Labour ICT policy?

I mean, they’re going to have a review of stuff, give us some more regulation and they’ve invented a new buzzword (Digital Citizenship! woo-hoo! When do we get our new Bullshit Bingo cards?).

Surely the man without the red scarf and the Dunedin bag-lady are the team to take Labour to victory with this triumph.
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July 25, 2014 8:52am
Pete George

bringbackdemocracy – that’s been exposed all week. What the article you link to exposes is a potential loose canon in the Conservative candidate ranks.

Steve Taylor has already openly exposed the identity online so he has breached the suppression order. He would have found it difficult taking it further than that because no media would want to publish it.
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July 25, 2014 8:55am
Griff

Go over to the standard Lance.
They haven’t “become unhinged” they are unhinged.
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July 25, 2014 8:57am
Keeping Stock

@ Judith (8.29am) – I agree. It’s a stupid error by Brownlee, but it’s not by any means a hanging offence politically. He’s done the right thing by taking full responsibility, and by specifically exonerating both his staff and the ground staff at the airport.

If the CAA decides he should be prosecuted, as with John Banks years ago for using his cellphone on a plane, then go for it; no one is above the law. I’m sure he would plead guilty at the first opportunity, and take his medicine.

And I think John Key has done the right thing not accepting the resignation offer, although I note that Brownlee has passed over the Civil Aviation component of his portfolio to Michael Woodhouse. Interestingly, Labour resorted to type yesterday with a series of jibes around Brownlee’s girth; the very behaviour Cunliffe has prohibited. It was all pretty light-hearted, but demonstrates how much Cunliffe has hamstrung his MP’s with the Sledge Pledge.
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July 25, 2014 8:58am
Scott

Yoza– Regarding the coverage of the fighting in Gaza I would have said that the BBC is pro Hamas as is most of the coverage that we get from British news channels.

However you can always go to TV3 where the Palestinian bodies are shown and named, particularly those of dead children and the grieving relatives are shown and their grievances are aired. Until recently the Israeli dead were not shown, however I think last night on TV 3 they did show the coffins of the dead soldiers and their grieving relatives.

However the biggest show of bias towards Hamas is that rockets have been firing from Gaza into Israel for years. This receives no coverage in the news. It is only when Israel retaliates that there is news – “Israel attacks Gaza”.

Please understand this clearly. The fighting is because of Hamas which for years has fired rockets into Israel. If they stopped firing rockets into Israel then the fighting would stop. Surely you can understand this?
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July 25, 2014 8:59am
Scott

Ugly truth – one more question for you – are you a Muslim?
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July 25, 2014 9:00am
Manolo

@KS: Labour appears to be falling so fast that even P.G.’s UnitedFuture or, Heaven forbid, Colin’s Conservatives, could overtaken them soon. 🙂
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July 25, 2014 9:01am
Yogibear

If Cunliffe is going to “let people in”, he’s going to need one of those quirky Air NZ in-flight safety videos.

With particular emphasis on pointing our where the emergency exits are.
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July 25, 2014 9:05am
SGA

Keeping Stock at 8:58 am

@ Judith (8.29am) – I agree. It’s a stupid error by Brownlee, but it’s not by any means a hanging offence politically. He’s done the right thing by taking full responsibility, and by specifically exonerating both his staff and the ground staff at the airport.

It’s poor timing for such an error too. Some people, I think, are suspicious of multi-term governments (irrespective of hue) developing a sense of, I don’t know, arrogance, hubris, entitlement, whatever. Such behaviour feeds into such suspicions.
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July 25, 2014 9:07am
Pete George

You’re being deliberately dishonest again Manolo. Lying seems to be one of your main aims here.

It’s your Conservatives isn’t it? Colin’s fan boy?
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July 25, 2014 9:09am
mandk

@ Lance

A good strategy for the Greens would have been to shift slightly to the right of Labour in order to become the Opposition-in-waiting. However, it’s probably a bit late for that now.
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July 25, 2014 9:13am
Pete George

Greens are shifting as right as they can, or at least to the centre. A policy released this week, extending Early Childhood Education (20 hours a week) to two year olds is targeting middle New Zealand.
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July 25, 2014 9:20am
James Stephenson

@mandk – If Labour’s activist base have dragged their party across to the left, how easy do you think it will be for the Greens to get their activists to allow them to move right? Never going to happen, is it?

The current situation is tailor-made for a centrist / populist party like NZ First to pick up a chunk of votes, unfortunately Winnie’s obviously past it. In his prime, he’d have been in the 12-15% range IMO
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July 25, 2014 9:23am
tom hunter

Greens are shifting as right as they can, or at least to the centre. A policy released this week, extending Early Childhood Education (20 hours a week) to two year olds …

Shifting right is extending government to more of the population?

Perhaps this could be explained by showing what shifting further left would look like in the context of childhood education.
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July 25, 2014 9:33am
Pete George

Free education (to an extent) is supported across the political spectrum. National have policy for extending free Early Childhood Education.

Left/right/centre is relative in practical terms. Greens are clearly targeting what are regarded as centrist or middle New Zealand voters.
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July 25, 2014 9:37am
WineOh

I am always surprised to see people aligning so completely with one side or the other in the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Both sides of the debate focus on a very narrow view of the conflict, and a very recent one at that. Comparing body counts or rocket attacks in the last four years attempts to simplify a very complex & vexing issue.

I support neither Israel nor Hamas, but empathise with their causes and losses. A few basic observations that I would draw:
* The mess of control, occupation and conflict has raged for over 2,000 years, though more dramatically in the last 100 years since the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
* Loss of life in the conflict is tragic, regardless of which side of the border it occurs on or the ethnicity of the victim. Numerically, these are certainly skewed in one direction due to the large disparity in military and economic strength.
* Both sides of the conflict have successfully demonised the other, and even if a magical solution were presented today there would be a toxic hatred on both sides that would last for generations
* The political will of both sides of the conflict speak of desiring peace, but their actions tell a different story. Both antagonise each other goading further conflict.
* Outside vested political and religious influences further inflame the issue. Case and point the amount of economic and military aid provided by the USA in the region: (amounts in USD for 2012 year)
– $3.1B to Israel
– $1.4B to Egypt (incidentally, the USA has recently ‘unlocked’ $600M in military aid to Egypt in the last month)
– $1.1B to Jordan
– $0.5B to West Bank / Gaza

I do not see it being resolved in my lifetime outside of a large scale regional conflict that either destroys Israel or Gaza & West Bank are absorbed within Israel.
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July 25, 2014 9:38am
WineOh

@ EAD – You seem to think that the National Party controls the Reserve Bank?

RBNZ is independent based on long-standing monetary policy conditions. It is not subject to the whim of government ministers.
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July 25, 2014 9:40am
Tarquin North

You may have come up with something new here Pete, A right leaning communist. And while I’m at it WineOh, the reserve bank is controlled by the Aussies – just ask Asenati what’s her face from Winston First. She’s an expert on the subject.
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July 25, 2014 9:43am
dime

EAD – i’m surprised the OCR went up again. I have to admit though, my mortgage is locked in for a few years so i didnt pay much attention..

then i noticed our dollar. wtf? on the back of the reserve bank saying our dollar is too high?

how long til people remember the US is at 0% and we are at at 4%. the dollar will bounce me thinks.

Thats Dimes simplistic view anyway!
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July 25, 2014 9:45am
James Stephenson

National have policy for extending free Early Childhood Education.

…and the most common criticism of National, that you get around these parts is…?

Trying to extend beneficiary status into the middle class (for want of a better descriptor) is not, and never will be “a move to the right”.
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July 25, 2014 9:47am
mikenmild

I don’t think either of those two things are very likely at all, WineOh. Israel’s military capabilities easily outmatch its neighbours’ combined strength, and will so for the foreseeable future. Israel could conquer and annex Gaza and the West Bank but wouldn’t want the Palestinians forming part (possibly even a majority) of its population. No, the conflict will drag on interminably at a low level punctuated by these small scale wars.
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July 25, 2014 9:49am
James Stephenson

@dime – the commodity prices that back our dollar have come off their peaks a bit, so it’s not really surprising that the dollar do the same.
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July 25, 2014 9:50am
WineOh

@ Dime, I didn’t read the full commentary from the RBNZ, but my understanding is that they advised this was the last rate rise for the immediate future, that the dollar has fallen indicates to me that the market had priced in further increases later in the year, and combined with the fall in dairy prices would support a drop in NZD vs USD.

@ Tarquin, LOL.
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July 25, 2014 9:52am
dime

James – true. i forget our dollar is quite strong cause we are doing ok. i always think its cause of the US’ weakness..
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July 25, 2014 9:53am
WineOh

@ miken, yes I agree absolutely. As I said, I don’t see it being resolved in my lifetime.
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July 25, 2014 9:53am
EAD

Looks like Orwell’s nightmare is becoming America’s reality under Obama as it descends further and further into a Police State with the public mere fodder to a brutal police force:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2703549/Shocking-new-video-shows-NYPD-officer-choking-suspect-police-commissioner-ordered-bottom-review-choke-hold-police-following-death-Staten-Island-father.html
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July 25, 2014 9:54am
dime

Dave Mustaine from Megadeth is loving Obamacare.

I guess its doing what they want it to do – everyone is fucked!

“I had the surgery on my neck and I was going to get a doctor’s appointment yesterday to get a CT scan, ’cause I’ve got a pinched nerve, and they said, ‘Well, we’ve gotta apply to see if you can get approval for a CT scan.’ And I said, ‘You know what?! I’m a freakin’ millionaire, and for me to have to go in there and ask somebody to get an X-ray? Shame on you, guys. ‘Cause if you’re doing this to me, what are you doing to the middle-class, what are you doing to the lower-class people?’ I was a poor kid, but that stuff pisses me off.”
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July 25, 2014 9:55am
EAD

@ dime – our economy is fundamentally stronger than America’s(which isn’t saying a lot!)

In times of economic stress the USD is a go to currency as people take flight to safety. I think this is the smart money moving out of small economies into the supposed safety of the greenback in times of geopolitical uncertainty.
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July 25, 2014 9:58am
thePeoplesFlag

Nice to see Rugby News politicising and denigrating the All Black jersey by putting a man who was never an All Black on it’s cover in an All Black jersey in a frankly partisan political piece of sycophantic endorsement.
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July 25, 2014 9:59am
dime

@ wineoh “that the dollar has fallen indicates to me that the market had priced in further increases later in the year” – good point.

Dime requires another 2mill US dollars between now an April.. last week i locked in another 500k @ 86something.. 500k to buy on the spot market.. maybe i should have locked it all in. doh.

fuck it, ill hold my nerve and wait for the bounce 😀
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July 25, 2014 9:59am
dime

“Nice to see Rugby News politicising and denigrating the All Black jersey by putting a man who was never an All Black on it’s cover in an All Black jersey in a frankly partisan political piece of sycophantic endorsement.”

LMAO i was at the England test in June. I saw a bunch of people “denigrating” the AB jersey by wearing it. None of em were ever all blacks! its almost like the jersey is for sale in shops ffs
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July 25, 2014 10:01am
Manolo

Yes, PeoplesFlag. Instead, it would be lovely to see the socialists tight five: Silent T, Phil Goofy, Duckie Mallard, Captain Mumblefuck Shearer and Full Moon King.
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July 25, 2014 10:02am
WineOh

Dime, $2M buys a lot of loose women, especially with the weak US economy.
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July 25, 2014 10:03am
James Stephenson

supposed safety of the greenback

Supposed is a good word. James Cameron hasn’t bought half of the Wairarapa just because he likes making films in New Zealand. That’s “crash proofing” advice straight out of Peter Schiff’s books.
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July 25, 2014 10:08am
tom hunter

Left/right/centre is relative in practical terms

So if a political party pushed this childhood policy further – lets say to 40 hours per week for all children or whatever counts as the maximum government intervention in this area – one could say that party had pushed further to the right, perhaps even to the far-right?
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July 25, 2014 10:09am
jcuk

If Gaza was free of the border restrictions and its people could move around the world as most of the rest of us then they would have no reason to be firing rockets and the conflict would end …. obviously there would need to be restrictions on the militant types who want to destroy Israel and sweep her into the sea but for the normal rational folk there should be no restrictions other than what the rest of us face.
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July 25, 2014 10:15am
ShawnLH

“Nice to see Rugby News politicising and denigrating the All Black jersey by putting a man who was never an All Black on it’s cover in an All Black jersey in a frankly partisan political piece of sycophantic endorsement.”

Translation: “Why can’t we have a leader who looks natural in an AB’s jersey, instead of that weepy, whiny, apologising for being a man, metro-sexual we have to put up with for another 12 weeks!”

🙂 🙂 🙂
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July 25, 2014 10:22am
dime

“Dime, $2M buys a lot of loose women, especially with the weak US economy.”

it also buys many containers of quality chinese imports 😀
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July 25, 2014 10:23am
EAD

Peter Schiffs “Crash Proof” and “How an economy grows and why it crashes” are two of my favourites perhaps unsurprisingly…..
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July 25, 2014 10:27am
OneTrack

If Gaza would stop importing and firing rockets there would be no need for import restrictions.

FIFY
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July 25, 2014 10:28am
Judith

I think the ‘left/right’ dichotomy is no longer particularly relevant to New Zealand, or indeed global politics.

We try desperately to categorize particular policies into these old concepts, however, fail to accept that the vast majority of the population cannot be slotted into them. We have ‘workers’, now strongly opposed to unions, who however are critical of free trade agreements and many big business practices. We have big businesses, that operate on a similar concept to communism, by sharing their profits with their workers, and so on.

I do not believe that any of our main political parties are solely left or right – and in fact perhaps that is what is wrong with post-modern politics, that as the community is no longer strictly one way or the other – political parties are having to morph themselves into some sort of prism that reflects the vast and differing attitudes of the general public – each of whom possesses a mix of the old ‘left and right’ political stance/s.

I see the government, and oppositions scrambling under MMP to provide for everyone and anyone, who might be able to assimilate at least in part, with some of what they are proposing in a scramble to win votes – to win an election, to do what?
Because without those old ‘left and right’ guidelines, no one is or can be sure exactly which direction any of them will take us in – or in deed, in which direction any of us want to go – given that most support both left and right policy at times.
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July 25, 2014 10:31am
kowtow

It’s the feudal Muslims dragging the world down.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10989576/Social-media-fuelling-surge-in-back-to-the-dark-ages-religious-persecution-Lord-Sacks.html
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July 25, 2014 10:35am
mikenmild

‘It’s the feudal Muslims dragging the world down’
That’s not what Lord Sacks said.
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July 25, 2014 10:37am
Judith

ShawnLH (3,222 comments) says:
July 25th, 2014 at 10:22 am
“Why can’t we have a leader who looks natural in an AB’s jersey, instead of that weepy, whiny, apologising for being a man, metro-sexual we have to put up with for another 12 weeks!”

Oh I think John Key will be around for a bit longer than 12 weeks, although I do agree, with his sunken chest and pathetic biceps, he is certainly doesn’t look natural in a AB Jersey. Personally I don’t think the ‘looks’ or physical attributes of our leader/s are much of a worry, as long as they are healthy, I’m more concerned with their honesty and integrity.
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July 25, 2014 10:37am
Pete George

From A beginner’s guide to NZ politics:

Conservative Party: Colin Craig is staring at you with those deep dishy eyes, and if you call him loony or mad or bonkers or wild or nuts, he sayeth unto you: I know you are but what am I?

His bottom line – bottom! – is that referendums returning more than two-thirds support for something or other shall be binding. Polls show more than 98 per cent of people do not particularly want the Conservative Party in Parliament.
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July 25, 2014 10:43am
Judith

@ Keeping Stock (10,095 comments) says:
July 25th, 2014 at 8:58 am

It wasn’t just Labour that resorted to passing jibes regarding Brownlee’s girth. There were a fair few on here, some Nat supporters among them that made some funny remarks. Let’s face it, Gerry would have found them just as funny – the one thing Gerry doesn’t do, is hide behind his proportions, he is realistic about what he is, and doesn’t take offence at all, often being the first one to make the joke.

I thought the funniest I read was that Gerry should have claimed that once he had the ‘momentum’ it was too hard to stop in time for the security doors! ** we have to keep smiling – its all us lefties have remaining **
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July 25, 2014 10:48am
Manolo

Don Quixote, aka Peter George, the fabled Mother Teresa of Dunedin, continues his crusade against the imaginary danger of Craig’s Conservative Party.

The anti-male paladin should be reminded that he has nothing to fear.
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July 25, 2014 10:50am
Pete George

And Mother Mary Manolo continues her crusade.
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July 25, 2014 10:52am
stephieboy

EAD (585 comments) says:
July 25th, 2014 at 9:54 am

Oh come on EAD. ! Police excesses are not uncommon in the US or other jurisdictions including ours . They’re certainly not unique to Obama’s tenure and its moon bat craziness to describe the incident as an Orwellian nightmare or generic police brutality everywhere .
Not of course if your into Conspiracy and other associated kinds of paranoia.
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July 25, 2014 10:52am
Judith

Pete George (22,764 comments) says:
July 25th, 2014 at 10:43 am

… Polls show more than 98 per cent of people do not particularly want the Conservative Party in Parliament…

Sadly, and as strange as it is, something that I’m sure would defy every rule of quantum physics (not that I know anything about quantum physics) under our current rules regarding MMP, those 2% may very well not only get what they want, but actually be the deciding factor in every piece of legislation before the house in the next three years.

And we immunise against the measles – is there an injection we can have to immunise us against ‘the Craig Plague’?
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July 25, 2014 10:54am
Manolo

A Silent T government would implement a similar policy: http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/07/8549536/state-agencies-launch-lgbt-data-collection-effort
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July 25, 2014 10:56am
Scott

jcuk- “If Gaza was free of the border restrictions and its people could move around the world as most of the rest of us then they would have no reason to be firing rockets and the conflict would end …. ”

Well that is an opinion but not one borne out by the facts. The facts are that Israel does not occupy one square inch of Gaza. The facts are that Israel does had border restrictions because otherwise terrorists from Gaza would come over and kill many Israelis. The facts are that Gaza spends a huge amount of their resources making tunnels so that they can go into Israel and cause mayhem – the kidnapping and murder of 3 Israeli teenagers recently being a case in point.

The facts are that the rulers of Gaza, Hamas want to destroy Israel, that is the reason for their existence and is an explicit part of their founding charter.

So the rulers of Gaza do not accept the existence of Israel. Their stance is not contingent on what Israel does, whether it opens its borders or not. The only thing Israel could do that the rulers of Gaza would accept is to cease to exist. That’s what Hamas wants. And they are pledged to wage war until they achieve their goals.
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July 25, 2014 10:57am
Judith

@ Manolo (13,332 comments) says:
July 25th, 2014 at 10:50 am

So you will be first to sign my petition to make paying income tax optional, will you? I expect getting the quota of signatures will not be too difficult, and I’m pretty sure the referendum would be duly supported. Of course it would cripple government, but, well, as Colin says, referendums must be binding – no exceptions.
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July 25, 2014 10:57am
backster

That’s a great photo on the rugby news. National should put up a few billboards outside the main rugby grounds, sure to hit a chord with a few voters who otherwise don’t take much notice.
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July 25, 2014 10:58am
Manolo

How long before Iwi impose a fee for visits? It’s supported by Len the Lecher support, so it could be a dodgy deal.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11298135
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July 25, 2014 11:01am
UglyTruth

Ugly truth – one more question for you – are you a Muslim?

In religion there are a lot of people who claim to be affiliated with a particular group but don’t have any real attachment to its core beliefs and values. As a result the more devout followers tend to get tarred with the same brush as the hypocrites. Also, it is a lot easier to manipulate people by arguing that they should behave in particular way if they want to belong to the social order – the politics of organized religion.
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July 25, 2014 11:02am
dime

“Polls show more than 98 per cent of people do not particularly want the Conservative Party in Parliament.”

lol based on polls?

so

“Polls show 100 per cent of people do not particularly want the United Future Party in Parliament”
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July 25, 2014 11:03am
ShawnLH

“It’s the feudal Muslims dragging the world down”

It’s the sin in all our hearts that has dragged the world down.
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July 25, 2014 11:05am
Manolo

@Judith: Fortunately I am impervious to nutters such as Colin Craig and yourself. End of story.
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July 25, 2014 11:07am
Pete George

Outside of “the bow-tie with a man attached, walking purposefully around Johnsonville Mall” there is a distinct and terminal lack of interest in UF.
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July 25, 2014 11:11am
publicwatchdog

Out in the wilds of Helensville yesterday – it was interesting to see that John Key’s electorate hoardings were just calling for the National PARTY vote! That’s the one. Why would the good folk living in the Helensville electorate waste their ELECTORATE vote on John Keywhen he’ll be Number One on Nationals Party list and get in anyway? Seems that John Key can’t be too interested in the Helensville ELECTORATE seat when he’s just focused on the PARTY vote? I am. Kind regards Penny Bright 🙂
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July 25, 2014 11:11am
Judith

@ ShawnLH (3,224 comments) says:
July 25th, 2014 at 11:05 am

It’s all reative Shawn. If one doesn’t know its a sin, or think of it as a sin, is it still a sin? If someone thinks their neighbour’s wife is a bit of okay, and wouldn’t mind a bit of the old rumpty bumpty with her, does that still come under the ‘coverting the neighbour’s wife’ sin – even though many don’t see anything wrong with ‘looking’ but not ‘touching’? And just how would that ‘drag’ the world down? (providing he doesn’t tell his thoughts to his own wife – in which case the rest of the world would be his least worry).
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July 25, 2014 11:11am
Pete George

Fortunately I am impervious to nutters such as Colin Craig

Very funny Manolo, that’s a bit contradicted by your frequent rushes to Craig’s defence.
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July 25, 2014 11:13am
Judith

@ publicwatchdog (2,094 comments) says:
July 25th, 2014 at 11:11 am

And best of luck to you Penny. The people of Helensville need active representation and a member of Parliament that is there for them … I hope you are successful, I applaud people that are prepared to stand up and be counted for what they believe in. It takes guts far greater than posting a few comments on a message board to do it. Good on you! 🙂
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July 25, 2014 11:16am
Scott

Ugly truth – thank you for your reply. Based on your answer would you see yourself as one of the more devout followers of Islam?
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July 25, 2014 11:18am
Lucia Maria

Russians are firing missiles into Ukraine:L

WASHINGTON—The U.S. believes Russia is firing artillery across its border at Ukrainian military positions, the State Department said on Thursday, an assertion that Moscow is playing a more direct role in the Ukrainian conflict.

The latest accusations show U.S. officials raising pressure on Moscow and more closely examining Russian activities near the rebel-held portions of eastern Ukraine since the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which Washington blames on pro-Russian separatist fighters.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf also said the U.S. has evidence that Russia intends to deliver powerful rocket systems to the pro-Russia fighters in Ukraine, but declined to provide details about the systems or about how officials came to that conclusion.

“We have new evidence that the Russians intend to deliver heavier and more powerful multiple rocket launchers to the separatist forces in Ukraine and have evidence that Russia is firing artillery from within Russia to attack Ukrainian military positions,” Ms. Harf told reporters at a news briefing, calling the findings “some pieces of info I’ve been able to get from our intelligence friends.”

Russia has repeatedly denied supporting the separatist fighters. Moscow denounced as fantasy previous charges by Kiev that missiles fired from Russia brought down two Ukrainian military planes on Wednesday.
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July 25, 2014 11:20am
Judith

@ Manolo (13,335 comments) says:
July 25th, 2014 at 11:07 am

So you keep saying, along with comments about how you are sick to death of my inane posts, and yet you keep reading them, when you have the option not to. Can I suggest that you remove my name from your ‘nutters club’ and insert your own, next to Craig’s, because after all, to keep doing the same thing (reading my posts) and expecting a different result, is a common definition of insanity.
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July 25, 2014 11:22am
Paulus

Perhaps somebody can correct me if they know the actual figures re the OCR increase and the effect on Mortgages.
I understand that only something like 40% of dwellings actually have a mortgage.
And this is what the Banks fight over – nothing else matters because a bank has only one job – to lend money.
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July 25, 2014 11:25am
Igotta Numbum

Just seen the latest Green’s billboards, and their campaign…. you have got to be joking?!

Negative attacks like this are going to backfire on them big time (and I’m happy about that).
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July 25, 2014 11:35am
Don the Kiwi

The pro-Muzzies are complaining about the closed border between Gaza and Israel, and about a blockade that is causing widespread unemployment and poverty in Gaza.

Tell us – why is the border with Egypt closed – or very closely monitored?

Why is Egypt as concerned as Israel WRT the Hamas led government in Gaza?

If Israel is constantly condemned, why isn’t Egypt also?

Just a few questions for the blinded Muzzi supporters.
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July 25, 2014 11:52am

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