Archive for September, 2010

Capitalist Ten Commandments

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 pm, September 30th, 2010 - 22 comments

A Capitalist Ten Commandments.

Do unto others…

Best. campaign. ad. ever.

Written By: - Date published: 2:36 pm, September 30th, 2010 - 22 comments

Do you watch 5 second films?

If not, you’re wasting your life.

Now, waste some more. In five second increments.

Pattern recognition

Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, September 30th, 2010 - 23 comments

John Key tells a businesswoman he “would love to see wages drop“. National makes sub-inflation minimum wage increase. National makes no effort to bring unemployment back down. Unemployment chokes wage rises. National attacks unions, the biggest driver of wage rises. Wage gap with Australia widens National opposes pay increases for teachers, medical techs, doctors,… National […]

Caption Contest

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, September 30th, 2010 - 39 comments

“The Cabinet Manual clearly states that Ministers are responsible to me for their ethical behaviour, not for their judgment.” “Mr Hide has carried out his affairs in a personal and private capacity to a high ethical standard.” John Key, 22 Sep 2010

Nats back Jackson over Kiwi workers

Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, September 30th, 2010 - 112 comments

Arts Minister Chris Finlayson has backed the Hobbit producers’ refusal to negotiate with Kiwi workers.

He’s citing a Crown Law opinion that backs Jackson’s claim he can’t negotiate with workers collectively.

But he’s deliberately asked a very narrow question to get the answer he wants – an answer he’s using to back foreign big business over the rights of Kiwi workers.

Tax Swindle Graph

Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, September 30th, 2010 - 30 comments

Danyl over at DimPost has produced an excellent graph of the gains from National’s Tax Swindle.  It uses the Government’s figures, it is generous in showing average rather than median incomes…

And it doesn’t look good for average kiwis.

Tax cuts for the rich no use if you’ve lost your job

Written By: - Date published: 6:45 am, September 30th, 2010 - 66 comments

Despite Bill English’s firm statement that “unemployment has peaked”, jobs are still being lost in large numbers. 1500 council workers in Auckland. 150 mushroom workers in Morrinsville. 500 workers whose quake hit employers are closing down in Christchurch. From John Key’s Hawaiian beach chair these worries must seem very far away.

Open mike 30/09/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 30th, 2010 - 28 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…

Short and sweet

Written By: - Date published: 9:43 pm, September 29th, 2010 - 2 comments

At the risk of following Bill’s excellent post with something  seriously lightweight, I just read this in the Listener and thought it was worth sharing for the pure joy of it … “Surely if anyone in the Act Party was going to impersonate a dead baby, it would be Rodney Hide” – comedian Dai Henwood […]

Que CERRA, CERRA?

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 pm, September 29th, 2010 - 63 comments

After picking up my award for worst ever ‘Standard’ post title, I’d just like to say that there seems to a penchant these days to leave too many things up to higher powers, or perceived authorities.  And authorities and those who are ideologically aligned with them or reliant upon them, naturally enough encourage such a giving away of agency.  It’s not always deliberate. And it’s certainly not a conspiracy. It’s just the way it is and is borne of habit. This morning afforded a fairly clear example of it.

Hickey sees the light

Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, September 29th, 2010 - 73 comments

Bernard Hickey, one of the country’s leading economic commentators, was a hardline neo-liberal – ie. the market is god. Now, he’s changed his mind. He’s come to the realisation that there’s no invisible god’s hand directing capitalist markets. Instead they are directed by short-termist elites. We need to take back control.

Jackson threatens capital flight

Written By: - Date published: 12:26 pm, September 29th, 2010 - 36 comments

I thought Peter Jackson was an ordinary guy made good who hadn’t let success make him an elitist prick. I was wrong. New Zealand taxpayers contributed hundreds of millions to his <em>Lord of the Rings</em> trilogy and what thanks do we get? Threats of capital flight, which will probably soon be followed by demands for taxpayer subsidies.

Nat smear machine obsessed by Fa’afoi’s ethnicity

Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, September 29th, 2010 - 49 comments

Ever since Kris Fa’afoi put his name forward to be Labour’s candidate in the Mana by-election, the National smear machine attacked him on his Tokelaun heritage. First it was ‘oh, they’re only going to choose him because he has a brown face’. Now, apparently, the problem is that he isn’t Pasifika enough. In truth, it’s National with the problems.

Jackson’s employment law fibs

Written By: - Date published: 7:59 am, September 29th, 2010 - 18 comments

Peter Jackson and others film industry employers are claiming they can’t employ their workers as employees.

That claim is simply untrue.

So what’s the real reason for their reluctance to employee people on proper agreements?

Open mike 29/09/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 29th, 2010 - 46 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…

Anne Tolley is a fool

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 am, September 29th, 2010 - 67 comments

Anne Tolley, Minister for wrecking primary education, doesn’t have the first or faintest idea of what “national standards” are actually going to mean in practice.  She is “appalled” at the idea of labelling children as failures.  But that is exactly what the standards are designed to do.

Open letter on the CERRA

Written By: - Date published: 2:05 pm, September 28th, 2010 - 25 comments

A group of 27 legal scholars from New Zealand and overseas has written an open letter outlining their deep concerns over the constitutional implications of the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010.

Nats’ shortsighted penny-pinching will cost us big in the end

Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, September 28th, 2010 - 52 comments

While the cat’s away the mice will play. And while the clown’s sunning himself in Hawaii the ideologues in his Cabinet will launch vitriolic attacks on public service workers. As teachers are forced to endure another day of the country’s most powerful figures attack them, lets consider the consequences of undermining vital public services.

English spins on GST with no traction

Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, September 28th, 2010 - 40 comments

It’s worth having a look at Bill English’s performance on Q+A the other day. What’s telling, to my mind, is that English can’t present a real vision or even any spin-free information. Why not? Because his tax swindle is about taking from us and giving to the elite, and he can’t just come and say that.

Solo parent bashing

Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, September 28th, 2010 - 101 comments

Life isn’t hard enough already for solo parents, according to the Nats.  So they’re going to make it harder.

Meanwhile, in some good news…

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, September 28th, 2010 - 12 comments

While the Anglo – Saxon or English speaking left seems unable to shake  a deep malaise that began afflicting it some thirty years ago, the left in the Spanish speaking world is making some remarkable strides forward.

Open mike 28/09/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 28th, 2010 - 66 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…

MEAA fisks Jackson tirade

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 pm, September 27th, 2010 - 53 comments

The MEAA has responded to Peter Jacksons Tirade.

And it looks like he’s not been very straight-up about how the situation got to this.

No Right Turn on GST policy changes.

Written By: - Date published: 4:18 pm, September 27th, 2010 - 113 comments

No Right Turn has covered todays announcement about policy changes for GST on fruit and vegetables. Since it is pretty comprehensive we will reproduce the two posts here.

Denier dissected 2

Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, September 27th, 2010 - 38 comments

Christopher Monckton has been one of the “highest profile” climate change deniers.  But it looks like his days as poster pinup for the denier movement are well and truly over. He’s busted.

Key’s bunker of spin

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, September 27th, 2010 - 23 comments

According to NBR Key is locked down in a bunker of spin that separates him from his party and his caucus.

And it seems like that’s holding the hard right policy back for now.

But things will change in a second term.

A suggestion for students

Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, September 27th, 2010 - 154 comments

The voluntary student union membership bill is based on a false premise, and a reflexive tory hatred for the word “union”.  I have a suggestion for students…

Union boycotts Jackson

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, September 27th, 2010 - 99 comments

Film workers in New Zealand have been exploited for years

Now their union is standing up for them.

And Sir Peter Jackson is throwing a tantrum about it.

Open mike 27/09/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 27th, 2010 - 47 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…

Ed Miliband UK Labour Leader

Written By: - Date published: 10:29 pm, September 26th, 2010 - 11 comments

Ed Miliband has narrowly beaten his brother David to become the new leader of Labour in the UK.  They now get to move on from the Brown-Blair era and fightback against the Tories.

RWNJs worried msm may awaken

Written By: - Date published: 6:14 pm, September 26th, 2010 - 19 comments

I guess we shouldn’t really mock such unfortunates but this latest missive from the Bog is too hard to resist. Farrar and his merry band of ignorant loons are furious that the ODT, one of New Zealand’s better newspapers, is daring to ask pertinent questions of ACTs replacement for David Garrett. It seems pretty fair […]