Author Archive
Trump’s confidence: The kiss of death?
Written By: - Date published: 11:53 am, March 3rd, 2017 - 39 comments
Watching Steve Brannon and his alter ego Donald Trump operate from a long way away is almost amusing. Total confidence == Jeff Sessions needs to recuse himself from the enquiry into unlawful contacts with the Russians..
National bolster their moribund blue-greens
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, February 28th, 2017 - 74 comments
I read this morning in Politik that Vernon Tava has left the Greens and appears to be leaning towards National. It doesn’t seem to me to much of a problem to lose a conservationist to National. It just means that the Greens can concentrate more effectively on the work of getting everyone trying to build a cleaner sustainable future.
The Trump bump
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, February 19th, 2017 - 27 comments
This week’s Economist looks at the resurgence in the business of the more effective mainstream media in the US. But the effect reaches all the way over here. Even I’m reading more on a the ongoing debacle that is the incompetent Trump White House. Good reporting and perfect reading for the summer season and I suspect that it is impacting all of the blogs at present.
Auckland NIMBYs refused
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, February 14th, 2017 - 12 comments
If Auckland as a city wish to retain representative samples of our past, then we should concentrate on how to preserve those rather than trying to deny the migration that increases its population by something like 50 thousand people per year. This is a working city – not a museum.
1.2 million comments
Written By: - Date published: 6:01 pm, February 5th, 2017 - 7 comments
We just hit 1.2 million comments published. I noticed by accident!. Typically it was on politics
Peter Thiel’s citizenship and consequent questions of corruption
Written By: - Date published: 6:28 pm, January 28th, 2017 - 52 comments
Journos have been looking at how Peter Thiel gained citizenship. Not because he shouldn’t have been made a citizen. But it was done without any public notice using a special section of the immigration act. That reeks of a corruption route by a minister or officials. Reasons need to be made public for this and other decisions done this way.
New Lynn should grab Greg Presland (damnit)
Written By: - Date published: 7:49 am, January 26th, 2017 - 103 comments
Greg Presland has been daft enough put his hand up for Labour candidate in New Lynn. That would be unfortunate for this site. But my advice for Labour and New Lynn is to grab him. Media say that the leading candidates are him and Deborah Russell. Regardless of a her competence, a non-Auckland resident is a big ask in the era of MMP seats.
Living without our fridge – 4-6C hotter
Written By: - Date published: 12:56 pm, January 1st, 2017 - 100 comments
My first degree about 35 years ago was in earth sciences. And one of my lifelong passions has been reading the history, prehistory, and evolutionary history of humans. The timescales give me an appreciation of the farcical attempts of humans to stop crapping in our narrow evolutionary space over the last century. We’re going to live in a hot hot world we weren’t evolved for.
To protect whistleblowers…
Written By: - Date published: 2:14 pm, December 17th, 2016 - 16 comments
One of the claims made by Edward Snowden was that there were no effective channels in the NSA to whistle blow to. This claim appears to have been spectacularly validated thursday with a POGO report that the NSA’s Inspector General, its final whistleblower protector, has been suspended for retaliating against another whistleblower.
Whaleoil and Rachinger – the final chapter starts
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, December 12th, 2016 - 88 comments
In the Manakau District Court later this morning the trial of Ben Rachinger on fraud charges related to a admitted solicitation attempt to hack this site by Cameron Slater begins. The trial is set down for 5 days. Unfortunately I won’t be there. However there aren’t any court orders to prevent me from expressing my views and advice on the trial.
Politik on Labour/ Greens
Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, November 24th, 2016 - 18 comments
I was rather amused reading Politik’s “Despite the pact Shaw takes on Robertson“ and was struck by the strange way that some political commentators (and probably some politicians) view the world at the political coalface. They really need to start to think about political parties as being like any other organisation. Tactical compromises without a strategic focus will always kill any organisation – eventually.
TPP: An epitaph for self-interested treaties done in secret
Written By: - Date published: 1:23 am, November 23rd, 2016 - 39 comments
The misogynist buffoon, under-skilled charlatan and ignorant bigot that the Americans have elected to be their constitutional monarch for the next four years appears to have effectively killed the constraint of trade agreement known as the TPP. From a freer trade advocate, avid exporter, and labour movement supporter with a touch of green :- Good riddance.
Netsafe finally gets its act together on the HDCA – sort of… and inadequately
Written By: - Date published: 2:38 pm, November 20th, 2016 - 7 comments
Apparently today, Netsafe will start acting as the “Approved Agency” of the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015. This is an act that is meant to deal with some of the excessive online abuse and bullying. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear to me that Netsafe is currently capable of dealing with the task. Instead they look like incompetent monkeys.
NZ Tech
Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, October 21st, 2016 - 45 comments
The top 200 tech “exporters” are now turning over NZD 9.4 billion. This year revenue increased by more that NZD 1 billion. Which is pretty phenomenal bearing in mind the sluggish world economy. It meant that they grew an additional 3000 odd highly paid jobs in just those top companies. Even this intellectually bereft government isn’t proving to be too much of a hindrance to tech business.
Online voting – the only choice for idiots
Written By: - Date published: 3:45 pm, October 9th, 2016 - 139 comments
As a computer programmer and someone who has been involved in politics for decades, I’m always amazed at idiots like Malcolm Alexander of the LGNZ talking about something that they clearly don’t understand the technicalities of. Online voting is way too fragile to roll out. And anyway young voters are still going to not have their voting details at hand.
A MPI boondoggle subsidy for Wairarapa land speculators?
Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, September 21st, 2016 - 23 comments
You have to wonder about the quality of some of the economic process control that goes on for National’s politically important subsidies to the farming industry. A economic review of a Wairarapa Water application for second stage feasibility funding from the Irrigation Acceleration Fund for the “Black Creek” and “Tividale” irrigation schemes makes it look like government funded boondoggle.
On the whiner’s excuse “but we are so small”
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, September 6th, 2016 - 20 comments
Damon over at civicanalysis wrote an interesting post over the weekend “How New Zealand can help save the world” (and then pointed my attention to it 🙂 ). It looks at what we can do to structurally alleviate climate change. But also looked at some of the economic benefits
Only unsustainable net migration fuels “growth”
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, September 2nd, 2016 - 107 comments
Our National dipshit ministers have decided to start a new growth industry. They importing low-skilled to extract their savings, using them to generate artificial heat in the service economy and to slow wage growth. On the way through they’re also screwing the housing market. Our current net permanent long-term migration is completely unsustainable. Perhaps it is time to vote NZ First?
Mama said
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, August 4th, 2016 - 1 comment
Mama said was the top blog listed in NZ this month on Open Parachute. I have to say that I loved Emily Writes explanation about her long absence from writing blogs after writing a viral review of Tarzan. But it is just the essence of why most of us blog.
Upgrades again and readership growth
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, July 22nd, 2016 - 17 comments
Operating system upgrades this weekend. We should get a bit of a speed improvement.
But for all of those new readers (nearly 70,000 of you in May) who haven’t suffered maintenance and failures taking your reading away, if the site goes offline during this weekend (or any other time), it will return. The site runs on a financial donated shoestring and a lot of volunteered time in technical and writing skills.
Climate change and trees – a palliative and not a solution
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, July 20th, 2016 - 108 comments
One alleviation for the effects of climate change is to plant trees, or some other form of vegetation. This is to suck up surplus carbon dioxide and to put it into a solid and relatively inert form. And it does. However it simply won’t work when we have rapid climate change.
Aussie – governed by a lame duck
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, July 3rd, 2016 - 51 comments
I suspect we are looking at a lame duck government in our biggest trading partner. While we wait for their next early election, we’re likely to see either not much happening at all, or a series of quixotic gestures aimed at bolstering uncertainty and reinforcing the need for “stable government”. (updated)
I don’t “own” The Standard
Written By: - Date published: 5:20 pm, May 10th, 2016 - 44 comments
Can I point out to the media, Cameron Slater, and for that matter the legal dimwits at the West Auckland site Lauda Finem. I don’t own The Standard. I haven’t even owned the domain name for more than 6 years. I used to own the domain up until 2010. But that was signed over in that year to be the property of The Standard Trust.
Thoughts about a poppy
Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, April 23rd, 2016 - 61 comments
Back in my youth I decided that there were things that were worth fighting for when it became necessary. It is a viewpoint that I have never had to change, and it shows in what I do. If you want a society worth living in, then you need to make sure that it either stays that way, or moves towards it. Less memorials and more effort is a better way to remember our dead and maimed.
Michael Wood standing for Mt Roskill
Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, April 16th, 2016 - 17 comments
Michael Wood has announced his candidacy to be nominated as the Labour candidate for Mt Roskill when Phil Goff vies for the Auckland Mayoralty. I can’t think of anyone better for that role or for winning the electorate for the left. Go young Michael. This is an unsolicited and possibly unwanted endorsement from me.
A big thank you to IDG from thestandard.nz
Written By: - Date published: 9:52 am, April 16th, 2016 - 15 comments
Why we all, readers and authors, should praise IDG Communications for the generous gift of shortening this sites domain name.
The secrecy uprising
Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, April 15th, 2016 - 29 comments
It is clear from John Key’s irresponsible reaction to accusations of NZ being a loosely controlled tax haven, that we are becoming an international target. Contrast that with European reactions, and then have a look at the David Brin’s prophetic reasons for the fictional Helvitica War…
The difference between decent folk and complete idiots
Written By: - Date published: 10:17 am, February 19th, 2016 - 34 comments
For a change I’m not going to have a rip at our local idiotic politicians. The most extreme case recently being the now infamous Dildo Baggins. Lets have a look offshore where they are often even worse…
A very stupid petulant spoilt child whines again
Written By: - Date published: 4:47 am, February 19th, 2016 - 47 comments
Good news for law abiding bloggers, the foolish Cameron Slater has to find about 8k to pay for his latest legal hiding by Matthew Blomfield. Whining about these actions to the press like Cameron always does, won’t stop the disciplinary actions. He needs to stop acting like a arsehole blogger.
Bob Carter Dies
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 pm, January 23rd, 2016 - 13 comments
Veteran Climate Science Denialist Bob Carter Dies of Heart Attack
Bob Carter has died. To most members of the general public, the name of that Australian geologist and paleontologist will barely register a flicker of neurons in the temporal lobe. But to the global community of professional and amateur climate science denialists, misinformers and opponents of climate policy, Carter was an influential giant. He died, aged… (more…)
A letter of thanks from Nicky Hager
Written By: - Date published: 2:31 pm, December 21st, 2015 - 71 comments
“On 2 October last year the police raided our home and I had the hugely encouraging experience of watching hundreds of you coming to my aid on Givealittle: giving money and, just as important, sending kind messages and giving moral support. The financial support made it easy for us to decide to launch legal action…”
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