Politics

158 Topics 67.2k Posts
  • Politics in General

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    liberalism
    /ˈlɪb(ə)rəlɪz(ə)m/
    noun

    willingness to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one's own; openness to new ideas. a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.

    Not entirely sure what the writer was trying to say and not an expert, but liberalism has nothing to do with the political left these days. The political left with its post-modernism-driven identity politics, etc is completely illiberal, the complete opposite of liberalism. Liberalism embraces modernity and science, considers opposing views to progress, believes in judging people not by any immutable characteristics, the list goes on and on.

  • NZ environmental policies (marine)

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    Yeah super common and has been for a few years. Seems to only be certain areas and even then I hear from charter guys saying their catches are all good (which i take with a grain of salt) and others (mainly rec) saying quite a high percentage of their snapper catch are mushy.

    We’ve only had a few of them over the past couple of years but most the fish i target aren’t school fish, so could be something in that.

  • High crimes in Warkworth

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    @dogmeat said in High crimes in Warkworth:

    DAMN - when I read the title, I thought this thread would have a lot more mention of cellars!

    Same.

  • Harvey Weinstein

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    The allegations being investigated by Scotland Yard are understood to be different to those detailed by The Times and The Sunday Times.

    https://archive.is/mGBnl

  • Canadian Politics

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    Brilliant public speaker.

    Good looking man. Still young (44). Attractive wife

    As long as the election isn't rigged (very likely) he should romp home

  • Future Of Energy - Ukraine Spin Off

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    @nostrildamus said in Future Of Energy - Ukraine Spin Off:

    @NTA said in Future Of Energy - Ukraine Spin Off:

    Oh another thing: smart home control can also extend to devices like your car charger. If it knows when you have excess solar or offpeak power available, it can use that rather than peak grid tariffs. My battery has a smart controller than can pull in cheap power overnight, for example, and apparently it is EV-ready.

    Have you thought about moving into the energy/utilities IT field? the analysts used to get paid a bomb (not sure about now) and you sound more knowledgeable than them (well the ones I worked with).

    I kind of work parallel to our company's energy team in the data area from the corporate consumer side. I thought about going fulltime into the energy bit but got lazy 😀

  • Qantas

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    Joyce's final shenanigans reminded me of the other name for Qantas. Google tells me there's even related merchandise. I'm far too easily amused...

    All my other bags have been lost by the airline

    FabbvZ8VEAApKr8.jpg

  • America ... Fark Yeahhhhhhishhhhh

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    @MiketheSnow said in America ... Fark Yeahhhhhhishhhhh:

    @Victor-Meldrew said in America ... Fark Yeahhhhhhishhhhh:

    This link is to quite a good piece which sets out the issues in SF. Some staggering stats

    Five years and an investment of 3.5 billion dollars later, the number of homeless people has not only failed to drop, but it is increasing uncontrollably. When Farha visited (in 2018), the figure was estimated to stand at around 7,800, in 2022 this figure has increased to more than 20,000.

    Got this for Christmas - yet to read it....

    59c4ba3d-5b96-44c4-8e42-5e04c4dc0bb4-image.png

    Great title

    The sequel, investigating crime, is also a good read

    San
    Fran-
    frisko

    Oh I see we recommended the same book. Top Man Mike 👍

  • Jeffrey Epstein

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    @Tim said in Jeffrey Epstein:

    Opening sentence in the Miami Herald

    Billionaire hedge fund founder Leon Black has been accused of beating and raping a 16-year-old girl with a rare genetic disorder

    I've heard of beating the gay out of you, but beating the autism into you?

    Does anyone check what goes to print these says?

    Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article277647763.html#storylink=cpy

  • Shooting in Auckland CBD

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    @Crazy-Horse said in Shooting in Auckland CBD:

    @antipodean said in Shooting in Auckland CBD:

    @Bones said in Shooting in Auckland CBD:

    @MN5 said in Shooting in Auckland CBD:

    @Bones said in Shooting in Auckland CBD:

    @Donsteppa said in Shooting in Auckland CBD:

    @Bones said in Shooting in Auckland CBD:

    @Hooroo said in Shooting in Auckland CBD:

    @Bones said in Shooting in Auckland CBD:

    @MN5 said in Shooting in Auckland CBD:

    All Police have firearms in their vehicles.

    I've got a bottle of oil in my boot, doesn't mean I'm a mechanic.

    Yeah because they just put the guns in there with no training….

    If I may borrow some of that sarcasm - I see there's an armed offenders squad, what's the need for that if every cop has the training?

    Presumably there's a middle ground, as there's little need for access to firearms if the only option is to wait until the specialists.

    I'm sure there is, but a police firearms response to someone with a knife is different to a response to someone with a gun I imagine. Or are NZ cops only allowed to use a firearm in response to someone with a firearm?

    I’m fairly confident they’re allowed to shoot someone if they’re not complying and advancing at them armed with……well pretty much anything.

    But ( possibly off topic ) fuck having to be in that situation and having to make that call knowing you’re in a lose/lose situation like that.

    I remember when that bloke was shot in Waitara 20 odd years and his feral family were interviewed and whinged that he was “only armed with a golf club”

    I believe you're missing the point. Call comes in about someone armed with a golf club - on the face of it, that's a fuckload different than someone armed with a gun and first responders may be able to contain the situation, even if not trained in tactical firearms response. If there's a firearm involved, they're probably not going to go rushing in and likely have to wait until trained units are available.

    I've never been a cop, let alone one in New Zealand. But common sense dictates to me that being made aware you have a potentially armed offender, the first GD cops to arrive would be trying to secure the scene, ensure public safety, rendering aid where possible and gaining intel.

    Having said that, 11 minutes is a long time in the CBD.

    Traditionally that has been the case and still largely is. Things used to be 100% isolate and contain but they are now training cops to 'go in' when it's an active shooter scenario. Training changed following an active shooter incident in the US where the local cops isolated and contained while the shooter was still going around shooting people.

    The problem we face in Australia, and probably NZ, is cops are only likely to be carrying sidearms. They are no good when up against a rifle.

    Yes and they don’t ‘carry’ them here. They still need to go to the car to get them.

    That issue is still obviously a massive can of worms too

  • NZ Judiciary

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    @Tim cos mental health...I reckon it'd be easy to game the system after reading that.

    As to him being rehabilitated and low risk of re-offending, right, am sure that kind of depravity doesnt just go away.

  • Tech, monopolies, censorship

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  • NZ justice system 2.0

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    @booboo said in NZ justice system 2.0:

    An Aussie case, and not a case I was aware of until recently, but Kathleen Folbigg ...

    Pardoned today for convictions for the death of her 4 kids over 10 years.

    Kathleen Folbigg - Wikipedia

    To quote Ian Fleming: "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action."

    What about 4?

    Am cynical, but "reasonable doubt" ... ?

    Absolute tragedy for all concerned - inc. the jurors. Nothing is perfect, sadly. You can only try to find the truth as best you can, minimise miscarriages and learn from them.

    The UK set up a Criminal Cases Review Commission, run by lay-people outside the Justice system, to investigate cases like this and refer them to the Appeal Court which has worked well. Does NZ or Oz have something similar?

  • Auckland Politics

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    @dogmeat said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:

    @nzzp He also didn't invite TVNZ or Newshub, lead by attacking 'the media' and moved on to insulting a swathe of Councilors.

    Which is all good fun and he's right about some of the Councilor's but it's no way to lead an organisation.

    He doesn't come across as all that financially literate either and part of me suspects any asset sale will involve more than a whiff of cronyism.

    Maenwhile his poor Deputy has to yet again front the press and explain the Mayor's shenanigans. He's lucky really. His behaviour would get a much rougher ride in many overseas media markets.

    Pissing off the media has never ever worked unless you have an alternate media in your back pocket willing to support and promote all that you do.
    Brown is trying Trump tactics without the full equation.

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    Oh FFS. Why don't you all just grow up?

    May 18, 2023 RFU to fly pride flag over Twickenham in response to Israel Folau playing there RFU to fly pride flag over Twickenham in response to Israel Folau playing there

    Folau will play for a World XV team against the Barbarians and has stated previously he believes gay people will go to hell

  • Steven Crowder

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    @antipodean said in Steven Crowder:

    @No-Quarter said in Steven Crowder:

    The knives are out for Crowder alright, the left doesn't have to do anything, nearly every political commentator on the right is absolutely tearing him to shreds.

    Good. If the bedrock of your political philosophy is family values, then a bloke being a massive fluffybunny to his pregnant wife is something that should be easy to criticise.

    Yeah 100%, but it's even more than that, loads of them have met him and it's like they were waiting for their chance to go to town on the fuckwit as they've hated him all along.

  • Dalai Lama

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    @broughie said in Dalai Lama:

    @Bones Catholic Church, Protestants, Epstein, Micheal Jackson, my grandfather etc. Basically a representation of humanity. No one has a mortgage on the subject.

    Jeepers

  • Jacinda resigned

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    @nzzp said in Jacinda resigned:

    @canefan said in Jacinda resigned:

    They assume to know best

    ... And don't want to relinquish control. Hence an initial centralized vaccine rollout that ignored GP and other medical facilities.

    And the failure to talk to iwi and other ethnic leaders to try and get buy in grossly hampered vaccine uptake. I had to regularly explain to people why we weren't open during the early lockdowns despite being considered emergency services, sort of. And don't get me started on PPE.....

  • Reparations for blacks

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    @Crucial said in Reparations for blacks:

    @MajorRage said in Reparations for Blacks:

    @Crucial said in Grumpy Old Man:

    @Rancid-Schnitzel said in Grumpy Old Man:

    @Higgins said in Grumpy Old Man:

    I'll bet there will be a fair few grumps when the bill for this lands on someone's desk to pay.

    https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/san-francisco-reparations-panel-proposes-7-8m-to-every-eligible-back-resident-total-debt-forgiveness/ar-AA16pS7n?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=717e624b02dd4c9a82d44c6ec93f8f74

    So what happens if you're mixed race? Do they divide it by fraction of black?

    To answer this question for others, the explanation is in the article.

    Interesting concept, trying to monetise societal impacts. Obviously done with knowledge that it wouldn’t fly but to show the impacts of the past.

    The impact of the past is 7.8m per person?

    You can’t tell me you believe that.

    I don't have too. I wouldn't have a clue what their calculation methodology was.

    I don't really understand this comment.

    I get your point of what they are trying to do, but I guess I misread your previous post talking about impacts of the past that you may have thought it was potentially justified.

    I am far from discrediting the idea (although if it were to come in, I'd GTFO San Fran as quickly as I could) as income disparity there is horriffic. You have Silicon Valley, perhaps the headquarters of wealth on the planet these days, and then the streets of San Fran are literally filled with homeless. It's truly terrible, and a very very bad look for your average capitalist.

    However, 7.8mm per person would put your average black household of 2 adults into the wealthiest 1% in one of the wealthiest cities (by average) on the planet.

    It makes the whole exercise look like nothing more than a cash grab / hand out. And that is truly terrible.

  • Brexit

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    @Crucial said in Brexit:

    @MajorRage said in Brexit:

    @Crucial said in Brexit:

    @MajorRage said in Brexit:

    Country can thrive, but won’t, because too many don’t want it to. It’s that simple.

    An opinion.

    I keep out of this board mostly as it is just polemic and even if you try to be open to both sides and ask for an opposing view supported by fact you get accused of having made your mind up.

    Not attacking you or your comment but I'm not stupid enough to think that people's opinions aren't tainted. I actually like to hear both sides and make my own mind up. In this day and age that gets very difficult

    Apologies, that posted sound more aggressive than it meant to.

    I agree with your response entirely.

    The point I’m making is that we will never know the true truth about Brexit. Is the economy down vs Europe since Brexit? Unequivocally, yes. Is it Brexits fault? Yes, and no.

    In my view, it’s down more because of the pandemic. An underbelly of this country has been exposed. It has a very large, extremely lazy, sub section. They were lazy before, they got lazier under govt support snd they fight going back.

    The thought of picking up the slack is non existent. Blame the govt, instead of working harder. Jobs are EVERYWHERE for the poor. Because people left after the pandemic and the Poms didn’t pick up the slack. They moaned, they whinged …. Then sat on their arses as the vacancies piled up. The media has ploughed so much negativity that ppl have lost faith, and the will, to improve.

    It’s sad. Under a United country, it would thrive. Properly. But there are too many who would rather piss, whinge, moan than take advantage of the opportunities.

    Back in the early part of this thread when debating/arguing sides this very outcome was predicted. I have worked in environments where it was Euro immigration doing most of the grunt work and on the rare occasions a local would try out they would be gone in hours as it was too hard (or easier not to work).

    I think you've highlighted precisely one of the things which is badly wrong with the UK and why so many businesses supported Remain and advocate re-joining the EU.

    Why bother about actually motivating your staff, increasing productivity and investing in people when it's so much easier to get cheaper labour from Eastern Europe and blame the locals for a poor work-ethic? And when the feckless, work-shy locals vote to leave the EU, it's so much easier to castigate them and call them names rather than understand their concerns rather than actually do the grunt work of getting the best out of your people. (That said, there are UK sectors with fantastic management - as @MajorRage has pointed).

    For me, much of the Brexit debate is/was about making life easier for the wealthier sectors of the country rather than improving growth, productivity and maximising the potential of the whole of the UK. I voted Remain way back, but seeing the negative impact of EU membership in Cornwall (the poorest region of the UK) along with the antics of second referendum advocates, has changed my mind completely.