Archive for January, 2011

Hot? Another Record Year

Written By: - Date published: 2:01 pm, January 14th, 2011 - 18 comments

To all those deniers who claimed the record cold in January & February in parts of the Northern Hemisphere (and again in December in Britain) proved global warming was a hoax…  In fact globally 2010 equalled 2005 as hottest year ever overall, being 0.62C warmer than the twentieth century average (~14C globally).  Deniers looked away […]

Botany & Titbits

Written By: - Date published: 1:26 pm, January 14th, 2011 - 28 comments

The New Citizen Party is going to contest Botany, and aims to get at least 6 MPs in the general election.  They will be the surprise force in Botany, with no-one knowing quite where to place them.

Also, Sandra Goudie is to retire.

Kiwis happy with MMP

Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, January 14th, 2011 - 98 comments

The Right hates MMP. Back in the good old FPP days, about 20% of voters backed leftwing parties like Values, the Alliance, and Social Credit but got nearly no representation. National could govern alone with just 35% of the vote or fewer votes than the other major party. The Right was happy with that. So, they’ll be pissed Kiwis prefer MMP.

Front on Pike River

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, January 14th, 2011 - 75 comments

Sad news for Coasters. Recovery of bodies at Pike River abandoned. Key promised ‘whatever it takes’ to get them out. He’s breaking his word. He should front up and justify it. Instead, he’s hiding from the media.

Open mike 14/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 14th, 2011 - 69 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…

Brethren taking subsidies for illegal discrimination

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 pm, January 13th, 2011 - 65 comments

Another great piece of work from I/S at No Right Turn: “the Exclusive Brethren have set up their own KiwiSaver scheme… The scheme will only be offered to members of the cult. This is, of course, illegal.” They’re trying to take taxpayer money for a business that illegally discriminates on the grounds of religion. It must be stopped.

Job survivor island

Written By: - Date published: 11:11 am, January 13th, 2011 - 35 comments

The CTU have launched the latest of their quirky and cute campaigns. Job Survivor Island illustrates the effects on real people of the boss being able to sack you without cause while you are denied legal redress. 1 in 5 workers are sacked under fire at will. Don’t become one of them, resist fire at […]

Open mike 13/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 13th, 2011 - 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…

Militant reactionarism coming to NZ

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 pm, January 12th, 2011 - 149 comments

The Great Depression saw the rise of rightwing reactionarism. Out of reactionary movements came fascist governments from Brazil to Romania. We had the 100,000-strong New Zealand Legion. The Great Recession is spawning a new wave of militant reactionarism, now reaching our shores.

Fight for Anzac and Waitangi

Written By: - Date published: 1:26 pm, January 12th, 2011 - 45 comments

This year, as last year, we miss out on both Anzac and Waitangi days as holidays.  And the Government refuses to do anything about it.  Phil Goff and the EPMU back all workers getting their rightful public holidays like any other year – but John Key apparently doesn’t think it’s do-able, that it needs “research”.

Will 2011 be a rerun of 2008?

Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, January 12th, 2011 - 22 comments

This post from the Oil Drum looks at how peak oil and the economy interact. From 2004 to 2008 oil prices rose and rose with demand. But high prices bought nearly no new oil to the market because it isn’t there. The prices broke the global economy, destroying demand. Now, prices are rising again and the weakened economies will topple much easier.

Chasing poor ‘pirates’ pointless

Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, January 12th, 2011 - 32 comments

Hard to imagine a bigger waste of money than sending a frigate to hunt fisherman who’ve turned to piracy because foreigners have illegally taken all their fish. How’s about we spend the money on aid to Somalia instead? Oh right. Can’t afford it says McCully. But vicariously playing the action hero hunting ‘evil pirates’, yeah, there’s cash for that.

Open mike 12/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 12th, 2011 - 62 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…

The Two Nations: or, Why Won’t They Bail Me Out?

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 pm, January 11th, 2011 - 38 comments

Under the supposed rules of capitalism, investors take a “haircut” if an investment goes bad – no reward without risk. It’s also Economics 101 that giving relief to the ‘little people’ will have a more stimulating effect on the economy than if you bail out the wealthiest interests in society. But the powers that be are breaking the rules to aid the rich.

Newtering the rhetoric on crime

Written By: - Date published: 1:33 pm, January 11th, 2011 - 37 comments

As has been amply demonstrated by comments on The Standard in recent days, there are many who believe that the answer to an ineffective deterrent is more deterrent; that leaving in place the likelihood that fleeing from a police car will result in your death is somehow discouraging an unknown number of drivers from fleeing. Increasingly, though, people who respond with their critical faculties as opposed to their knees are realising that the present model of law enforcement and incarceration is a failure.

Back from the brink?

Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, January 11th, 2011 - 269 comments

For years, the American Right has been ramping up its violent rhetoric. Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement have encouraged their followers to think that their guns are all that stands in the way of a socialist coup. Now, the violence has become real and the Right has, largely, baulked. Will the Tea Party’s rhetoric be scuttled?

Rationality vs Electability

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, January 11th, 2011 - 38 comments

The Left have too long accepted the Right’s turf to fight their battles on. Instead of appealing to individualism, the Left need to make community the norm. But whilst avoiding their turf, we do need to use the Right’s preferred weapon – emotion. We must counter their offer of individual wealth for a few with collective happiness for all.

Open mike 11/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 11th, 2011 - 30 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…

The widening gap

Written By: - Date published: 11:12 pm, January 10th, 2011 - 93 comments

No, this post isn’t about Smile and Wave’s failure to close the gap with Australia. It’s about the widening gap between the tiny elite in this country and the rest of us. Even before the Great Recession, 10% controlled more wealth than the rest of us combined. The housing market shows that their wealth is still rising while ours falls.

English Confident Voters Gullible

Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, January 10th, 2011 - 34 comments

Blinglish is confident that voters understand the economy and back the government’s (lack of) direction.  In fact he better hope that voters don’t understand the economy, or notice National’s lack of help to an economy shedding jobs and headed into double-dip recession, or he won’t get voted back in.

Herald editing letters to make them pro-Nat

Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, January 10th, 2011 - 35 comments

Our guest poster writes about a letter he had published in the Herald recently. A clever wee missive, it started ‘helpful’ in tone but had a sting in the tail on the inaction of Key’s do nothing government in the face of recession, unemployment, and peak oil. The Herald cut off the sting leaving a ‘pro-Key’ letter. What are they up to?

Race for 2011 wide open

Written By: - Date published: 6:48 am, January 10th, 2011 - 68 comments

Campbell has a good post on the problem of voters’ emotional reactions to Key and Goff as exemplified by the Sunday-Star Times Horizon poll (the striking thing is how little emotional response they elicit). I’ll look at the party numbers. Horizon tries to include which way the undecideds will fall – the results have National worried.

Open mike 10/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 10th, 2011 - 27 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…

Labour’s greatest challenge for 2011?

Written By: - Date published: 12:04 pm, January 9th, 2011 - 59 comments

The Sunday Star-Times has produced an interesting article on the role of emotion in people’s voter choices leading into this year’s General Election. While the results are not great news for Labour supporters, it’s the first poll of its kind to be made public in NZ. There’s a lot of controversy over whether we ought […]

Tea Party turns violent

Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, January 9th, 2011 - 225 comments

Only one US Congressperson has ever been assassinated – Leo Ryan during the Jonestown Massacre. Gabrielle Giffords may become the second after a gunman shot her and others, killing at least one, in Arizona. This appears to be part of a rising tide of violence from America’s far-right Tea Party movement, driven on by Glenn Beck and others.

Open mike 09/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 9th, 2011 - 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…

How bad’s the poll?

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 pm, January 8th, 2011 - 59 comments

Farrar and Slater are trying to knee-cap a poll in the SST tomorrow. They know the numbers because Key’s office told them. Obviously jittered. Slater says it has NZF at 8.9%. Movement of ipredict stocks suggest its bad news for Nats and Labour. If Nats are in mid-40s then they’re in danger territory. Very hard for them to find a majority.

Richer without air combat wing

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 pm, January 8th, 2011 - 46 comments

Why New Zealand’s lack of a fast jet military capability is suddenly an issue? We been fine without it for nine years. Renowned defence expert David Farrar weighs calls the decision to mothball the Skyhawks and Aermacchis ‘terrible’, citing the $34 million spent keeping them saleable, but how’s that compare to the cost of keeping them flying?

Unemployment – No Story Here

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, January 8th, 2011 - 65 comments

Youth unemployment is 19.8%, but is there much coverage of a shockingly high number?  That’s 1 in 5 young people Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEETs to the initiated); higher than the OECD average.

Open mike 08/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 8th, 2011 - 43 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…

Stop the carnage

Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, January 7th, 2011 - 116 comments

Back to civilisation after a few days bush. First thing I see in the paper – another kid killed in a police pursuit. 20 in the last 12 months. Makes me so fucken angry. Police policy needs to change. I don’t have the answers. But these people didn’t deserve to die. 20 lives and who knows how many injured is not acceptable. Can’t be beyond us to do better. Can’t be.