Written By: - Date published: 9:42 pm, May 31st, 2010 - 33 comments
McCully, Key, listen up. The real problem with Haden’s comment isn’t using the term ‘darkie’. The problem is he thinks limiting the number of Polynesians in their team is a key to the Crusaders success. Something the Blues should imitate. Haden apologised to the ‘darkie’ line. Hasn’t apologised for the real racism. How much is he being paid by the government? Do we want a racist representative?
Written By: - Date published: 7:51 pm, May 31st, 2010 - 11 comments
This from McCully – It is not up to the Minister of Sport to investigate allegations of racial team selection, Murray McCully says. He said if that was the case then he would have his staff monitoring talkback radio. McCully’s trying to tell us his staff aren’t monitoring talkback radio? The great strategist and spin-meister […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, May 31st, 2010 - 18 comments
One of these things is not like the other, One of these things is not quite the same Can you guess which one is not like the other, Can you tell me before I finish the game?
Written By: - Date published: 1:58 pm, May 31st, 2010 - 18 comments
Jim Bolger’s mates have got together and put a half page ad (including a list of who they all are) in today’s DomPost to wish him a happy birthday and to thank him for his many years of public service.
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, May 31st, 2010 - 39 comments
Colin Espiner sums up Highwater-gate very well: “Basically it comes down to this: [John Key] said he didn’t know he had shares in Highwater when he really did.” No-one’s alleging Key had conspiracy meetings in smokey rooms with alcohol magnates. That’s a ridiculous misdirection being run by Kevin Taylor. This is about the blind trust and how Key handled the conflicts of interest arising from his knowledge of his shareholdings.
Written By: - Date published: 1:12 pm, May 31st, 2010 - 37 comments
Kerre Woodham’s just penned an endorsement of the three strikes act.
She admits that it probably won’t do what it sets out to do. She accepts that it might be unjust. She understands that it will be expensive. Nevertheless she supports it.
Here’s why…
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, May 31st, 2010 - 11 comments
After 15 months, just 10km of the 2000km John key Memorial Cycleway has been built at 3 times the budgeted cost. I’d like to see Goff take Key up on his offer of a ride on his recession-busting national cycleway. They’d be done in half an hour. Key’s flagship policy was always a joke and, now, everyone’s laughing. Come next year, voters are going to look at this record and say ‘on yer bike, John’.
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, May 31st, 2010 - 60 comments
Immediately after the Budget, some of the political commentators said National had triumphed and caught the Left wrong-footed. Wrong. In reality, Kiwis are not buying National’s spin. The Left’s argument against tax cuts for the rich is gaining resonance. Workers see a tax swindle. The Nats have played their only trump and they’re finding it hasn’t worked.
Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, May 31st, 2010 - 25 comments
It seems former All Black Andy Haden will keep his job as Rugby World Cup Ambassador after having apologized and withdrawn his allegations that the Canterbury Crusaders have a limit on the number of Polynesian players they recruit. Fair enough, perhaps. But Murray McCully’s decision to not “shoot” Hayden on the grounds that if he […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:14 am, May 31st, 2010 - 20 comments
A shadowy cabal calling themselves “The NZ Bloggers Union” set out to create a grass-roots “Air NZ” blog award. Apparently a bunch of blogs have entered, The Standard might even be one of them, which is pretty organised for us! But we were deeply disturbed to hear that DPF will not be entering, apparently because he does not believe in awards. What’s up with that? Well, we’re from The Standard, and we’re here to help…
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 31st, 2010 - 26 comments
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 pm, May 30th, 2010 - 78 comments
Another bad poll for National. Support for the Tories in the latest Colmar Brunton poll has dropped from 54% to 49%. The gap between Right (National and ACT) and Left (Labour and Greens) has fallen from 20% last September to 11%. And keep an eye on New Zealand First. It looks like, for all the gushing reporting, the public hasn’t been taken in by the tax swindle.
Written By: - Date published: 5:32 pm, May 30th, 2010 - 16 comments
From the RSA, a short video based on a seminar by Dan Pink.
Dan was once Al Gore’s speechwriter.
Here he “illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace”.
Written By: - Date published: 12:47 pm, May 30th, 2010 - 19 comments
National’s second budget has induced a lot of inflation – 5.9% over the next year. Interest rates on term deposits are just 4.4%. Collectively, New Zealand’s savers will be $2.3 billion worse off in a year’s time than they are now, thanks to the Budget. The flipside is the real value of mortgages will fall. Borrowers win and savers lose. I thought English said he was encouraging savings.
Written By: - Date published: 8:14 am, May 30th, 2010 - 38 comments
I knew that disasters in rich white countries get much more media than disasters anywhere else. I knew that oil was a dirty business. None the less, this article on the real costs of cheap oil surprised me.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 30th, 2010 - 37 comments
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 6:56 pm, May 29th, 2010 - 12 comments
When floating the idea of Kiwibank’s possible sale to a post-budget audience last week, Bill English said that the government did not want to put more capital in because it was risky. Mr English, fresh from delivering the 2010 Budget, told a gathering of South Island business people yesterday that the Government might consider a […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:48 pm, May 29th, 2010 - 77 comments
Audrey Young reports that Paula Bennett has once again abused the trust and power that is given to her as a minister in her campaign to paint all beneficiaries as bludgers. I don’t know anything about this family. But if this family is not entitled to their benefit then Bennett should do her damn job and get them off it. If they are entitled then she shouldn’t be accusing them of being bludgers.
Written By: - Date published: 2:37 pm, May 29th, 2010 - 75 comments
The only question that matters in Highwater-gate is this: “is John Key’s trust really blind”? The answer seems to be “no”. I’m sorry, but the lawyer’s letter that John Key released yesterday just raises more questions about his not so blind trust. We’re still waiting for an explanation of how the trust is blind given that everyone can see into it.
Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, May 29th, 2010 - 33 comments
Comments by former All Black and Rugby World Cup “Ambassador” Andy Haden that alledge the Canterbury Crusaders have a limit on the number of “darkies” they have in their team have created more headaches for Key. After carefully reaffirming his love for the red-neck rump of voters with distasteful comments about Tuhoe – Key’s now faced with the […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 29th, 2010 - 47 comments
Key’s assets are supposed to be blind to him. Before the 3 News report he claimed that they were blind. Now he is claiming something much much narrower (no “beneficial interest”). Why? We’ve been here before. Bill English claimed no “pecuniary interest” in his accommodation rort trust. The Auditor General found otherwise. Key’s case should go to the Auditor General too.
Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, May 29th, 2010 - 25 comments
The Dominion Post has revealed that only hours after criticising National’s plans to mine on Great Barrier, Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye was seeking advice from Key and Brownlee’s offices on what to say to the media. Kaye has previously admitted to having had Key sign off on her original opposition but this latest revelation […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 29th, 2010 - 18 comments
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, May 28th, 2010 - 57 comments
John Key has just issued a press release answering questions no one asked. Mr Key says he doesn’t have a beneficial interest in Whitechapel, the ‘key hole’ to seeing his blind trust. But Key doesn’t answer the central question – why does Whitechapel seem to clearly depict the interests of his so-called ‘blind’ trust?
Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, May 28th, 2010 - 46 comments
Tuhoe are about to walk away from their Treaty talks. More power to them. Key has screwed them over. They’ve been waiting generations. They can afford to wait a little longer until we have a decent PM. Or they can go to the UN, see what that DRIP really means. This is where ‘take it or leave it’ Key gets us. He’s trying to get the cheapest deal. Should be focused on justice.
Written By: - Date published: 9:59 am, May 28th, 2010 - 20 comments
Maersk, the world’s largest shipping line, has announced it will no longer transport unsustainably harvested fish. New Zealand orange roughy is on the ban list. Good on Maersk. It’s not often you see a major corporate using its market power for good, putting the long-term future ahead of short-term profits. A wake up call for the government and the fishing industry.
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, May 28th, 2010 - 70 comments
Labour has complained to Parliament’s powerful privileges committee over Key’s shareholdings in an Otago vineyard. It turns out that Key co-owns the vineyard (in his not-so-blind trust) with some of NZ’s largest supermarket owners. This, while the government has ruled out liquor tax increases.
Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, May 28th, 2010 - 18 comments
Murray McCully is still smarting from the Aid community so strongly (and correctly) objecting to his destruction of our world leading NZAID program, that he continues to kick them. Not content with last year’s 75% cut to the funding of the NGOs umbrella group The Council for Development, he has now suspended $26 million paid to NGOs like World Vision, Oxfam and Save the Children.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 28th, 2010 - 45 comments
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 11:42 pm, May 27th, 2010 - 53 comments
John Key’s been lying long enough to know not to tell a porky that’s instantly falsifiable. So, I was gobsmacked to see him on TV1 saying he had never heard of Whitechapel, the company that owns his shares as a holding vehicle for his ‘blind’ trust, Aldgate. Because at that moment I was looking at the online records of him giving those shares to Whitechapel.
Written By: - Date published: 9:32 pm, May 27th, 2010 - 27 comments
During the weekend, amongst the other chores, the system will get an operating system upgrade. I’ll also be doing a general check for filesystem errors and look for stray files accumulating after its first 30 odd days of operation.
In theory, this should only result in a few minutes of outage. However…
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