Author Archive

Land of the free?

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, March 17th, 2011 - 26 comments

With so much going on in terms of large scale disasters at the moment, it is easy to lose track of the stories of a mere individuals.  But there are two individuals who’s stories should not be forgotten.  They are facing the full might and anger of the American establishment.  Their “crime” was to tell the truth.

Christchurch RWC

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, March 16th, 2011 - 76 comments

I don’t think that anyone who has been paying attention to events in Christchurch could seriously have expected the city to host a major sporting event like the RWC within a few short months.  So why is John Key the last person left in the country who is denying the obvious?

Ruling out Hone

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, March 15th, 2011 - 77 comments

Labour leader Phil Goff has ruled out working with Hone Harawira even if Mr Harawira heads a party of several MPs.  I think it’s a foolish decision and I think the reasons don’t stack up.  Instead of ruling out Hariwria, Labour should rise to the challenge.

Go well

Written By: - Date published: 5:33 pm, March 14th, 2011 - 18 comments

Forty two Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) workers left New Zealand this morning for Japan.  Straight off the back of three hard weeks in the rubble of Christchurch, they are flying in to help out with an even bigger disaster.

Nuclear Free

Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, March 14th, 2011 - 72 comments

As the nuclear disaster continues to unfold in Japan there is a risk of a Chernobyl style event and a huge release of radiation.  Coming as it does on the heels of the Christchurch earthquake, it is all too easy to imagine the same scenario playing out here.  New Zealand must remain nuclear free forever. We need a plan for a nuclear free and oil constrained future, and we need it now.

Blazing Fruit

Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, March 13th, 2011 - 7 comments

Apropos of nothing in particular, one of my favourite poems.

Looting by another name

Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, March 11th, 2011 - 126 comments

Mayor Bob Parker has described landlords hiking rents in Christchurch as “looting by another name”.  I think the majority of us would feel as Parker does — it seems simply wrong to exploit people for profit in a time of tragedy.  But look around.  It’s just unregulated capitalism in action.  There’s an awful lot of it about.

Prince William

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, March 10th, 2011 - 95 comments

I’ve nothing against members of the Royal Family personally, but what possible good is a visit from Prince William?  We already have a popular but useless celebrity “leader” swanning about the country to make people feel good and hog the cameras.  Do we really need a second one?

Some free advice for National

Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, March 9th, 2011 - 20 comments

Hey National – stop lying and inventing dodgy stats to try  and prove that we’re all better off.  The tax cut received by most people was derisory, and the cost of living is shooting up fast.  Even the Kiwiblog heartland isn’t buying the lies.  If you can’t convince them, you can’t convince anyone…

I See Red

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, March 7th, 2011 - 62 comments

The government has a fair bit on its plate right now, like the  Christchurch quake, and  the hammering that ordinary folk are getting from the cost of living.  So its reassuring to know that the PM’s office has its eye on the ball.  It’s all over the “important issues”…

Bulldozer Brownlee

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, March 6th, 2011 - 109 comments

Gerry Brownlee thinks that most of Christchurch’s heritage buildings should be bowled tomorrow.  I wonder what Christchurch thinks of Gerry Brownlee.

Another poll

Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, March 5th, 2011 - 90 comments

Another Roy Morgan poll is out, and the results make for interesting reading.

Recovery phase

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, March 4th, 2011 - 5 comments

I know that the thoughts of the whole country are with those in Christchurch, especially the family and friends of the dead and missing.  And the thanks of the whole country are with the rescue teams and other workers, who have done everything humanly possible in very dangerous circumstances.  Thank you all.

Christchurch rentals

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, March 3rd, 2011 - 47 comments

As the long haul gets under way in Christchurch there are going to be many flash points for conflict. One of the first to emerge is the tension between landlords and tenants, as the following selection of articles makes clear.

The art of political prediction

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, March 2nd, 2011 - 21 comments

Make enough predictions and some of them will turn out to be true.  Here are two fine examples of the art of political prediction which reach completely opposite conclusions.  Take your pick…

Two minutes silence

Written By: - Date published: 6:53 am, March 1st, 2011 - 25 comments

Today at 12:51 pm marks exactly one week since the earthquake struck, and probably around 300 people lost their lives.  PM John Key has called on the country to observe 2 minutes silence, starting at that time, to honour the victims of the quake.

Some personal reflections on the quake

Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, February 28th, 2011 - 57 comments

There’s been lots of good stuff written on the quake, I’m not going to try to add to it in any systematic way.  These are just a few random personal reflections from inside the disaster zone, big picture and small, all that I can put my head around writing tonight.

“I’m not going to make excuses…”

Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, February 22nd, 2011 - 25 comments

Which John Key are we to believe?  John “I’m not going to make excuses” Key, or John “because [the government] was preoccupied” Key.  Take your pick – Key is all things to all people…

Sniffing produce

Written By: - Date published: 5:42 pm, February 21st, 2011 - 22 comments

This really should be Friday Fun, but maybe your Monday needs a smile too.  Today on Kiwiblog an ex ACT MP David Garrett complains about telling off an Asian-but-I’m-not-racist woman in the supermarket for sniffing fruit.  Apparently it’s just not done here.  Isn’t it?  Someone should tell John Key…

The benefits of public spending

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, February 21st, 2011 - 97 comments

We know from history, and from our own recent experience, that tax cuts don’t cause growth.  Privatisation and public service cuts don’t do us any good either.  What does cause growth?  Public spending.  What’s more, public spending is much more efficient than the private sector too…

Hello TV3 – can you count?

Written By: - Date published: 6:27 pm, February 20th, 2011 - 94 comments

Is Duncan Garner just recycling headlines from last year?

Updated: Apology from TV3

Whitcoulls

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, February 20th, 2011 - 32 comments

Whitcoulls has been here since forever — “one of New Zealand’s most famous and enduring retail chains”.  But the chain is in big trouble, and it’s sad to watch the ongoing wreck.  Let’s hope that Whitcoulls can be saved before hundreds more workers and families in NZ lose their livelihood to the moribund economy.

Good company?

Written By: - Date published: 3:46 pm, February 18th, 2011 - 21 comments

Our PM in the company of his peers?

John Key – Liar

Written By: - Date published: 6:59 pm, February 17th, 2011 - 182 comments

John Key and his government have told us a series of lies over the new BMW fleet.  One by one they have been disproven.  As the truth slowly closed in Key clung to one last deception, that he himself didn’t know about the impending replacement until last week.  Now that lie has been busted too.

Milked

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, February 17th, 2011 - 51 comments

Our wages are so low that we can’t keep paying “international prices” for basic necessities.  GST off food is just tinkering at the edges.  We need more radical action.

How not to handle a rebel

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, February 16th, 2011 - 38 comments

The Maori Party handling of rebel MP Hone Harawira has been a complete mess.  The latest bizarre chapter in the story is the gagging of Harawira with “a complete media ban” to be “strictly observed by the Maori Party”.  I’m trying to recall any precedent for such an extreme gagging of free speech by a political party…

Boot camps yet another Key failure

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, February 15th, 2011 - 39 comments

Key ignored all the experts with his boot camp policy.  But it turns out that the experts were right.  Reoffending rates are 50% within the first year, and likely reach 65 – 70% two years after course completion.  Add boot camps to the ever growing list of Key’s failures.

Why are the “Right” terrified of equality?

Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, February 14th, 2011 - 78 comments

Economic inequality is damaging to the fabric of society.  It’s a simple and compelling message, and it seems to have the political “Right” in a complete panic.  In fact if Deborah Coddington’s latest piece is anything to go by, the Right are terrified to the point of derangement.

Lessons in hatred and tolerance

Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, February 13th, 2011 - 13 comments

There are some ugly things going on in England at the moment, with PM David Cameron feeding an already  eager fire of anger directed at Muslims.  Meanwhile in Egypt thousands of Muslims acted as human shields to protect Christians from terrorist attack. “It is up to the press to report these positive stories and not exaggerate the sway that extremists hold over the global Muslim community.”

Nats bully bulldozer still running

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, February 11th, 2011 - 18 comments

The Nats regard parliamentary process as an inconvenience to which they must pay lip service, but nothing more.  They started as soon as they took office, with repeated abuse of urgency.  The current disgraceful process over the foreshore & seabed legislation is just the latest instalment.

English lashes out

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, February 10th, 2011 - 66 comments

By every significant measure our economy is a mess.  Bill English is finance minister for what is looking increasingly like the most useless do-nothing NZ government in living memory.  So is he working on a plan to put things right?  Is he rolling out the big ideas that will get New Zealand moving again?  No – he’s lashing out at public servants.  Pathetic.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

No feed items found.
No feed items found.
No feed items found.

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-04-24T06:42:19+00:00