Random Politics

[Ab]

Originally Posted by xor

Wanna start taking bets about the success of next year's census?

Prediction: being unable to organise a piss-up in a brewery, they'll instead survey some tiny subset of the population but will have a magic algorithm that can extrapolate out to an accurate picture of the whole country, but the algorithm will be super-sekrit and unauditable by anyone outside the Labour party, it's ok we can trust them because they're kind.

[Lightspeed]

lolz, National gutted those departments. You can't just magically repopulate departments with quality civil servants.

[Ab]

I'm not disagreeing with you, but how long has Labour been in power again?

[StN]

#Aroha, got mine despite currently living/working outside of NZ.

...and now, it appears the NZ Govt has facilitated a DDoS attack on the Online Banking platforms!

[_indigo1]

Originally Posted by Ab

... Labour party, it's ok we can trust them because they're kind.

https://youtu.be/SpLgZFOkFLY?t=202

[Lightspeed]

You think you'll be voting ACT again Ab?

[Ab]

I'll do what I do every election. I'll put together a big spreadsheet and list all the parties and their policies and rank them based on how important I think they are at the time of the election, and then I'll give my vote to the party that scores the highest.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by Ab

I'll do what I do every election. I'll put together a big spreadsheet and list all the parties and their policies and rank them based on how important I think they are at the time of the election, and then I'll give my vote to the party that scores the highest.

Same for last two elections.
But with addition of -ve points for policies that I don't like.

[Ab]

Yep totally.

[Lightspeed]

Does non-policy behaviour have any weight? The realism of any such policies?

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by Lightspeed

Does non-policy behaviour have any weight?

Not really, imho all the parties have douchebag members on their party lists.
Or are you meaning things like that National tending to cull govt worker headcounts. Where they tend to grow under Labour?
Imho, they do grow too large under Labour, but then again the National Cull goes too far the other way. *shrug*

The realism of any such policies?

Yes. This is factored into the importance rating I give them.
Even if I agree with a policy in principal if they don't have a solid plan on how to achieve it. It will score poorly with me.

[Ab]

Originally Posted by Lightspeed

Does non-policy behaviour have any weight? The realism of any such policies?

Weren't you of the opinion that policies are only for getting elected, and once in power they can be discarded because once you're in power you can do whatever you want?

[Lightspeed]

I wouldn't say discarded, but yeah, pretty much. I just don't think policies account for the bulk of government behaviour. They're the dog and pony show that keeps the public distracted while the party gets up to what it really wants to behind the scenes.

Hence my question.

[DrTiTus]

I think I will give:
-1 to any party for each property owned by a current MP (-2 if it's held in a trust)
-1 anytime the party campaigns using the words "motu", "whanau", "tamariki" when they simply mean "country", "family", or "children"
-2 for every utterance of "robust", "learnings", "aspirational" that I can remember
-1 for every candidate that lists their pronouns
-2 for every candidate that openly claims to be a socialist
-1 for every candidate that claims to represent a Maori place name that I don't recognize and ends up being some place that everyone would otherwise know
-1 for using the "used to run an airline" joke
-50 for actually running an airline
+2 to any party supporting/decriminalizing marijuana
+5 if they allow me to shoot/shanghai cats in my garden
+100 to any party that proposes bringing back the death penalty

I'll add it all up, and smear dog shit on my ballot

[Lightspeed]

Swarbrick frustrated by Deputy PM not backing alcohol harm minimisation bill

Robertson signalled he would not vote in favour of the bill if it was to be treated as a conscience vote.

"It's a pity in a way because parts of that bill are very good around how to make local alcohol plans work better but the idea that we're just going to switch the tap off on a funding source that has been a critical part of sports funding without a coherent and clear plan of how to deal with that at a time when the government's resources are thinly stretched across a lot of other areas we need to be looking at.

...

Swarbrick was awaiting a response from Robertson which she hoped would clarify the total alcohol advertising spend in sports that he referred to as a "very substantial sum of money".

Tangentially related, maybe a certain National MP wouldn't be facing the difficulties they are if it wasn't so lucrative convincing people to drink?

[Ab]

I see the Tories are up to their third female leader.

[Lightspeed]

I get the feeling China is succeeding in the Solomons where they failed in Samoa:

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...on-2022-09-08/

[xor]

https://twitter.com/Strange_G/status...50991252881408

What a legend

[Lightspeed]

Stories about stories about stories.

[xor]

The great kiwi battler

[DrTiTus]

I guess I'll post it here even though it's partially a random thought.

I live near the air base, so only I see/hear military aircraft - apart from the occasional nutter landing in a paddock with his helicopter, it's a pretty quiet airspace above me. I heard a plane flying over yesterday, it was obviously quite low for me to notice it, and it was a 747 flying from Ohakea to Guam - "National Cargo" whatever that is. Ohakea being a NZ Air Force base, and Guam being a strategic US military base "near" Taiwan. It was low enough for me to almost read the logo on the bottom, but I didn't recognize it as a carrier I knew. I found it interesting, simply because of the current tensions between China/Taiwan. It might be routine business, but I didn't see any reports of military drills or any humanitarian or rescue efforts relating to/involving Guam - the last drills NZ was involved in ended at the beginning of August, AFAIK. Ohakea has been doing a big upgrade in the last 12 months or so, new hangars I think, and cranes have been on site for a while.

Considering we're not in Ukraine but somehow a NZ soldier got killed there, it wouldn't surprise me to find out we're also not involved with Guam/Taiwan and the US/China situation. Worth mentioning, but I don't have any more information than that.

[Ab]

It’s low because the plane is a c*nt!

[Lightspeed]

lolz, what?

[fixed_truth]

Originally Posted by xor

https://twitter.com/Strange_G/status...50991252881408

What a legend

The cringe is real

[xor]

Sure, it's just a reflection of how many kiwis feel towards their PM.

[fixed_truth]

He said that most people in NZ want her to die & she's a psychopathic socialist of dubious gender.

If you really think that's true then perhaps you should reset your social media algorithms.

[xor]

Sure, if you take his literal words as truth. I just take it as some bloke being mad AF at the prime minister which i agree with. The stats are all fucked. NZ is poked.

[Lightspeed]

Kooky fucks be mad. Critical insight, apparently.

[Ab]

Originally Posted by xor

Sure, it's just a reflection of how many kiwis feel towards their PM.

Sounds like an Aussie accent to me.

[Redneck]

Originally Posted by fixed_truth

The cringe is real

Wait til you see his website: https://thecrowhouse.com/home.html

[fixed_truth]

Oh Jesus. That must be where antivaxers & their ilk go to do their own research.

[StN]

It's like he's stolen the Rense.com page template from 20 years ago.

[_indigo1]

That is AWESOME.
But where are the flashing colours and the 'made with frontpage' banner?

[Ab]

Needs a "Netscape NOW!" animated gif

[crocos]

Originally Posted by Redneck

Wait til you see his website: https://thecrowhouse.com/home.html

Reminiscent of one of the better Geoshitties websites. Which ain't saying a lot.

[xor]

More bullying claims

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pol...id=app-android

Deep down, I knew what I was experiencing was abuse, however it was months after leaving that I actually managed to process and come to turns with the trauma, and to stop blaming myself. If anyone else on here has been in that environment, or knows of someone who has been there, they know what it's like.

It's not bullying, it's abuse. And the abuse needs to stop.

I do need to state. I came forward after hearing the EA after me speak out. While I knew her during my time there, we weren't close, however after she spoke out, I got in touch to thank her, and she helped support me to speak out as well. So, I wasn't influenced by anyone, and wasn't pushed to speak out - this was my choice. A difficult one, but one I don't regret.

[Ab]

Many of the staffers are aged in their early 20s.

Mmm-hmm

[Ab]

Originally Posted by crocos

Reminiscent of one of the better Geoshitties websites. Which ain't saying a lot.

/TimesSquare/6609, never forget

[crocos]

Originally Posted by Ab

/TimesSquare/6609, never forget

Because insufficient bleach?

[Lightspeed]

The US condemning Iran for being an oppressive regime over the death of Masha Amini is a bit much. Every other day I see a new instance of a non-white American getting a completely unjustified beat down.