Archive for October, 2010

Open mike 07/10/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 7th, 2010 - 54 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…

A Case of IHG?

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 pm, October 6th, 2010 - 31 comments

Seems these days that when people get in to financial strife, the Government is all too happy to offer a helping hand loaded down with wadges of cash.  Sometimes…

And then sometimes something altogether more short and sharp is offered. Depending…

Fonterra – killing Orangutans.

Written By: - Date published: 3:48 pm, October 6th, 2010 - 45 comments

There has been an interesting ad from Greenpeace running around the site today. It is obviously intended to go viral before the lawyers from Fonterra get it into court… I think I might help out a bit… So should you – dump it onto the social media.

Auckland electoral fraud case

Written By: - Date published: 3:35 pm, October 6th, 2010 - 89 comments

The alleged electoral roll fraud in Auckland has plenty of angles and dimensions for political junkies.  But the underlying issue is simple.  Electoral fraud of any kind is not OK, perpetrators should be found and prosecuted.  We have one of the most robust and respected democracies in the world.  Let’s keep it that way.

Analysing Henry’s ‘apology’, TVNZ & Key’s mishandling

Written By: - Date published: 2:38 pm, October 6th, 2010 - 56 comments

We’ve had a lot of coverage of the issue of TVNZ’s bigoted host but I want to chip in with a few points: Paul Henry’s ‘apology’ is in fact a calculated dog whistle to bigots, the blame for Henry goes to a deeper rot in TVNZ, and we have seen prove positive of John Key’s complete inability to lead and stand up for what’s right.

Banks desperate

Written By: - Date published: 12:54 pm, October 6th, 2010 - 60 comments

As it goes down to the wire in Auckland, John Banks’ desperation is on full display.  It’s not a pretty sight.  Banks seem to have nothing to offer but negative campaigning, personal attacks, and South Auckland dogwhistles.  He deserves to lose.

Paul Henry Asks Questions of Government

Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, October 6th, 2010 - 22 comments

What future for TVNZ? Paul Henry’s words show us their current car-crash course – bigotry for ratings, price over quality, drivel over culture.  Isn’t it time we asked for something better?

Fabians on privatisation

Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, October 6th, 2010 - 1 comment

Fabian Society seminar tonight in Wellington:

“Are there any new arguments for privatisation?”

5:30-7:30 at Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace.

Business wants permanent rightwing dictatorship

Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, October 6th, 2010 - 26 comments

The capitalist elite is anti-democratic to its core. The Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act (CERRA) is being held up as business’s ideal form of government. Ex-National staffer Richard Long says that Gerry Brownlee should use his CERRA powers to ‘sort out’ a slew of other ‘problems’. We should never have trusted them with this power.

Why are the National ministers so afraid of each other?

Written By: - Date published: 8:16 am, October 6th, 2010 - 10 comments

Ministerial staffers who have worked under the National and Labour governments of recent years have begun commenting on some of the differences between each.

Apparently, one key difference has been that National ministers refuse to hire staff from other ministerial offices to avoid being labelled by their ministerial colleagues as staff-poachers.

Paul Henry: “It’s so appropriate coz she’s Indian”

Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, October 6th, 2010 - 50 comments

In case you were wondering why Breakfast Bigot Paul Henry has to go – here’s another great example of his work. Watch it all if you can. Maybe this alone wouldn’t be enough for dismissal if it was an uncharacteristic rarity, but it’s characteristic and commonplace for Paul Henry. I don’t want this person representing my […]

Back into recession

Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, October 6th, 2010 - 78 comments

The NZIER survey of business opinion shows that the economy shrank in the September Quarter. The December Quarter was already forecast to be negative and the Christchurch quake will make it worse. So, we’re almost certainly back into recession. That’s going to blow out the government’s debt. The underlying cause is peak oil.

Open mike 06/10/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 6th, 2010 - 44 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…

Breakfast bigot suspended

Written By: - Date published: 2:18 pm, October 5th, 2010 - 95 comments

Paul Henry has been suspended from TVNZ. He will return on air on Monday 18 October. That simply isn’t good enough – he needs to be sacked because he is a recidivist offender who appears to be incapable of learning. As Mike Treen says “Paul Henry has become the poster boy for bigotry. He has no place on a national broadcaster paid for by taxpayers – taxpayers who include many of the people he humiliates.”

The leadership vacuum

Written By: - Date published: 1:32 pm, October 5th, 2010 - 41 comments

Paul Henry has a racist rant to the Prime Minister and what does John Key do? He laughs along and tries to make a joke. A PM that is afraid to be a leader. A Leader of the Opposition who is afraid of ticking off racists. A Green Party that is afraid of making a claim for the Left vote when Labour fails. Come back, Helen, all is forgiven.

John Key’s blue-eyed baby misdirection

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, October 5th, 2010 - 28 comments

John Key really does say some extraordinary things when he’s trying to placate the media, and often it works because journos are bamboozled into accepting what he says as fact. Yesterday, he defended the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act saying the Governor-General tests the appropriateness of each CERRA law. Dead wrong.

NZ’s new racist international image, proudly brought to you by TVNZ

Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, October 5th, 2010 - 82 comments

Here’s some of the international coverage of New Zealand that Paul Henry’s racist outburst against our Governor General Anand Satyanand has sparked. In India and here. Cool, after the recent effigy burnings of a certain Kiwi in New Delhi  on the grounds that he was racist, that should really help things heaps. Australia, UK, USA, […]

Sack Paul Henry – protests at TVNZ

Written By: - Date published: 6:01 am, October 5th, 2010 - 81 comments

Join the protests this evening outside TVNZ in both Auckland and Wellington calling for Paul Henry to be sacked.

AUCKLAND: 5pm, TVNZ HQ, 100 Victoria Street West
WELLINGTON: 5pm, TVNZ, 86 Lambton Quay

Open mike 05/10/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 5th, 2010 - 106 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…

A couple of points about the Hobbit dispute

Written By: - Date published: 9:26 pm, October 4th, 2010 - 62 comments

Actors Equity have the Aussie actors’ minimum standards up on their site and they look pretty minimal.

So what’s all the fuss about and why is John Key suddenly interested in getting involved in an industrial dispute?

After all he’s previously claimed it’s “not appropriate” for the government to intervene in other disputes.

Quick thoughts on Henry’s “apology”

Written By: - Date published: 6:46 pm, October 4th, 2010 - 30 comments

So he’s apologised to the Governor General personally but not to the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who he has described as not looking like New Zealanders? WTF does it matter whether or not he’s a royalist? Did he make some kind of anti-royal comment I missed? Is he actually apologising for what he […]

Wade-Brown with a chance to beat Prendergast

Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, October 4th, 2010 - 13 comments

Everyone had pretty much assumed that Kerry Prendergast was a sure thing to win another term as Wellington’s mayor. But a Dompost poll shows Celia Wade-Brown is in the hunt. With a small gap and low turn-out every vote matters – so cast yours for Wade-Brown today.

Dompost says CERRA needs to go

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 4th, 2010 - 19 comments

The Dompost has joined the chorus of outrage over CERRA (The Gerry Brownlee Enabling Act). Parliament got it badly, badly wrong in signing away its powers but it’s not too late to make things right. The Greens are calling for a review. Labour should join them.

No rest for team Brown

Written By: - Date published: 12:52 pm, October 4th, 2010 - 19 comments

The weekend headlines make it seem like Brown has the Auckland Mayoral election all but won.  That’s an invitation to self-defeating complacency.  Team Brown needs to keep up the hard work — it ain’t over ’till it’s over.

Paul Henry: we all pay for his unending bigotry

Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, October 4th, 2010 - 195 comments

New Zealand’s most infamous anti-Ambassador Paul Henry has shamed us all once again. On TVNZ’s Breakfast this morning, Henry asked John Key (at 6’30” into the interview) of our Governor General “Is he even a New Zealander” (Satyanand was born in NZ) and could the next GG be someone who “looks and sounds a bit […]

Shamed by Kiribati

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, October 4th, 2010 - 19 comments

The tiny island nation of Kiribati puts the “developed” world to shame.

EPA: Enabling poor accountability

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, October 4th, 2010 - 16 comments

When National announced it would create an ‘Environmental Protection Agency’ and a short-cut resource consent process for projects of ‘national significance’, the implications were clear. The new agency and process would be used to override local opposition. Sure enough, that’s what’s happening with Waterview.

Open mike 04/10/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 4th, 2010 - 41 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…

Carter’s piss-poor blackmail & careerism

Written By: - Date published: 11:20 pm, October 3rd, 2010 - 89 comments

So, Chris Carter is threatening a ‘tell-all’ book on the Fifth Labour Government published at the next election. But he says he won’t publish it if he gets to stay in Labour. It’s blackmail, a further act of treachery for which he deserves to be evicted from the party. Carter’s rot is the corruption of all MPs who forget who they were elected to serve.

Be rad: vote Yani and James

Written By: - Date published: 3:40 pm, October 3rd, 2010 - 10 comments

OK, so it’s quite up with the best campaign ad ever, but Yani Johanson and James Dann’s anti-Bob Parker rap brought a smile to my face. Yani is running for councillor in the Hagley-Ferrymead ward and James is going for the Hagley-Ferrymead Community Board, both on the People’s Choice ticket.

Big ups to Helen Kelly and a question for the lawyers out there

Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, October 3rd, 2010 - 15 comments

Helen Kelly has brought the two parties in the hobbit dispute together.

That’s a job well done and a big step in settling this dispute.

But there is still the broader issue of independent contracting being used to circumvent employment law and whether it could be fixed by legislation.