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Financial crisis spreading

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, May 8th, 2010 - 42 comments

In other cheery news this morning: “Euro crisis goes global as leaders fail to stop the rot”. Germany’s Chancellor says that “politics have to reassert primacy over the financial markets”…

UK Election – The morning after

Written By: - Date published: 12:06 am, May 8th, 2010 - 38 comments

The UK election has delivered a complex hung parliament and almost anything seems possible. At time of writing The Guardian is reporting that David Cameron will soon be making an announcement on “plans to form a strong and stable government”, and that “Nick Clegg looks to Tories to form government”.

The oil mess

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, May 7th, 2010 - 13 comments

We’re in the middle of another slowly unfolding oil disaster. On April 20 the “Deepwater Horizon”, a British Petroleum oil rig, exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and starting what is fast becoming the the largest oil spill in history. It’s an environmental catastrophe. But can we salvage a long term upside?

DPF strikes out

Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, May 6th, 2010 - 29 comments

I don’t read Kiwiblog often. DPF is capable of interesting political commentary or detailed policy wonkery on occasion, but most of the time it is editorial cut and paste jobs, troll farming, or postcards from his latest holiday. Ho hummm. Even a casual reader such as myself, however, can’t help but notice that National’s eternal spinster is having a pretty appalling week.

Tipping point

Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, May 4th, 2010 - 12 comments

We’ve passed “the honeymoon”, we’ve passed “the honeymoon is over”, and we’re now on to discussions of “the tipping point” for the National government. Not before time.

Not a time for mixed messages

Written By: - Date published: 1:34 pm, May 3rd, 2010 - 26 comments

This is not a time for mixed messages. Phil Goff is quoted today as saying: “They [the Government] have got to back down from both Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel”. No! Labour’s position, and the position of the biggest single protest march since 1938, is no mining in any Schedule 4 land! Don’t dilute the message…

Don’t undermine NZ – march today!

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, May 1st, 2010 - 27 comments

Today, May the first, is the day to march for NZ. Very literally, for the hills and mountains, the bush and the wildlife, for the sustainable future, and the clean green image of our country. March to oppose mining in the most precious regions of our National Parks

ECan protest today

Written By: - Date published: 6:41 am, April 30th, 2010 - 23 comments

Live in Canterbury? Value democracy? What are you doing today after work? Come to the ECan protest, 5:30 pm @ ECan office 58 Kilmore St. Because Canterbury is only the beginning…

Choices are becoming clear

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, April 29th, 2010 - 39 comments

The choices between Labour and National are becoming clearer by the day. Next election the public is going to be offered two very different futures for New Zealand. Not between Labour and a dissembling “Labour Lite”, but between Labour and the true National agenda exposed.

Call your broker…

Written By: - Date published: 1:12 pm, April 28th, 2010 - 61 comments

As recently discussed, sovereign debt may well be the next crisis point in the world’s unstable financial system. In breaking news, things aren’t looking too rosy right now.

Another blow to families

Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, April 28th, 2010 - 42 comments

Not content with raising the cost of living through a GST increase, the Nats are clearly planning another blow to young families. In a move that breaks yet another election promise, Bill English is preparing the ground for the axing of 20 hours free early childhood education.

Two faced too far

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, April 27th, 2010 - 47 comments

John Key is a two faced politician. He frequently says different things to different audiences. In the case of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Key may have taken this duplicitous tactic too far, setting two large bodies of public opinion on a collision course…

Big fat Tolley folly

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, April 26th, 2010 - 35 comments

Comment from an international expert reported in The Herald today reminded me that National Standards aren’t the only ideologically driven folly that Tolley is forcing down the throats of schools. She’s also doing her bit to contribute to a major health problem…

I robot

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, April 25th, 2010 - 10 comments

News is already suffering from the “downsizing” of reporting and editing staff. What happens as the process goes further, with the automation of the collating, ranking, and even the writing of the news? How long before gaming news rank is the next political battlefield?

Weeding out low quality

Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, April 24th, 2010 - 58 comments

The Nats are looking to cut $1.8 billion in spending over four years. Where from? What and who will be deemed to be “low quality” in need of “weeding out”? The answers are going to tell us a lot about the National Party’s values…

Stewart vs. Fox

Written By: - Date published: 3:02 pm, April 22nd, 2010 - 19 comments

When will conservative commentators stop picking fights with Jon Stewart? It never ends well for them.

The Eyjafjallajökull opportunity

Written By: - Date published: 12:53 am, April 19th, 2010 - 48 comments

European air travel has been grounded for four days and there is no end in sight. What will be the effect of further prolonged disruption? What if the eruption lasts a year or more? Can the current crisis be turned into a constructive opportunity for rail?

2015 is closer than you think

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, April 18th, 2010 - 51 comments

A recent report from the US Joint Forces Command states that “By 2012, surplus oil production capacity could entirely disappear, and as early as 2015, the shortfall in output could reach nearly 10 million barrels per day”. Are you planning for a post oil future? Why not?

The next step on smacking

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, April 14th, 2010 - 44 comments

Smacking and the reform of Section 59 was one of the big political issues of the last few years. Key’s position on facing down the appallingly worded “smacking referendum” remains one of the very few things that I can respect and applaud him on. Key will not want to revisit this issue, but the evidence from a new study suggests that he should…

Tertiary education under attack

Written By: - Date published: 3:57 pm, April 12th, 2010 - 2 comments

Before the election National promised that they would “Ensure that institutions have greater autonomy”. What does greater autonomy look like, National style? It looks like yet another National attack on democratic governance.

Foreshore and seabed a new ball game

Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, April 11th, 2010 - 19 comments

National is offering significant new concessions on the foreshore and seabed. It’s a whole new ball game. Coming on top of Whanau Ora its second big win in a row for the Maori Party. Is this it? Will there be an agreed solution? Can the country put this issue behind it?

The Waihopai spy base

Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, April 9th, 2010 - 31 comments

The Waihopai spy base is very much in the news. Last month the Waihopai Three were acquitted of charges, provoking a storm of controversy (and congratulations). Yesterday came the news that the Government is considering further action against the three. There was also a “very unusual” statement about the role of Waihopai from the GCSB. Who to believe?

Sticking it to the underclass

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, April 7th, 2010 - 39 comments

Remember “the underclass”? They were briefly fashionable in National circles in 2007. Now that they are the government National’s policies for the underclass seem to involve a good deal of beneficiary bashing. Invalids are being thrown off their benefit before the new legislation is even in effect. Election promises are being broken to remove the carrot and wield the stick. How will this help the underclass?

Key’s promises on crime

Written By: - Date published: 6:53 am, April 5th, 2010 - 58 comments

John Key makes big promises and he doesn’t deliver. Tax cuts North of $50? Jobs summit? Close the gap with Australia? His rhetoric on crime is another example. Key promised to tackle violent crime. Key promised a war on P. Well, the first report card is in, and it isn’t good.

Maori Party ambushed

Written By: - Date published: 2:02 pm, March 30th, 2010 - 29 comments

The Maori Party says it was ambushed on National’s welfare reform policy, which Tariana Turia opposes. The Minister and the Associate Minister are at odds on the issue. Does this mean that the Maori Party will be making a stand? Don’t hold your breath…

Voodoo economics

Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, March 29th, 2010 - 42 comments

Leaky homes are a slowly unfolding disaster for the country. Someone is going to have to come up with $11bn (at least) in costs for repairs, and the government hasn’t a clue as to how to handle it. Still, every cloud has a silver lining they say, and for the government it is $2bn extra in taxes…

Facts don’t matter

Written By: - Date published: 11:24 am, March 28th, 2010 - 19 comments

Anyone who has been involved in debating issues has probably come to suspect that facts don’t matter. Facts don’t change people’s minds, there are other, stronger influences that shape opinions.

A recent article by George Monbiot in The Guardian reviews some of the psychological evidence for this fact blindness in the context of the climate change debate.

Oxymorons

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, March 26th, 2010 - 29 comments

The Nats are flailing about desperately looking for an angle to convince Kiwis to trash their country and their heritage for 30 pieces of silver. Brownlee’s latest line is that mining is a green industry. Only ignorance could breed this government of oxymorons…

One person one vote

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, March 24th, 2010 - 14 comments

Pita Sharples’ speech on race relations day, and his comments that followed, certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons. Did Sharples really mean to suggest that we should do away with “one person one vote”? I don’t think so…

One in five children

Written By: - Date published: 6:18 am, March 22nd, 2010 - 28 comments

Anne Tolley has promised that national standards have been introduced so that “every single child could read, write, and do maths when they left school”.

The depths of arrogance and ignorance in that claim leave me at a loss for words…

Another big empty promise

Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, March 20th, 2010 - 41 comments

Education Minister Anne Tolley has made an extraordinary promise: “New Zealand elected a Government that promised to introduce national standards so that every single child could read, write, and do maths when they left school. That is what the country voted for.” We would all love to see National deliver, but they can’t, and they know that they can’t. It’s an empty promise.

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