Archive for November, 2011
Penguin: Key lies to help us
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, November 8th, 2011 - 30 comments
Yes, that’s an actual quote [sans ‘serfs’] from David Farrar lying about his master John Key’s lies about not raising GST.
hattip: frank macskasy
Labour’s fantastic children’s policy
Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, November 8th, 2011 - 272 comments
Labour released its excellent children’s policy yesterday that will lift 150,000 children out of poverty and enhance families’ quality of life. The Right is wailing. Fuck ’em. They’ve turned a blind eye while 32,000 more kids have fallen into poverty. Only a Labour-led government will have the policies for a truly brighter future for all Kiwis, especially our kids.
Economic credibility – mote and beam
Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, November 8th, 2011 - 20 comments
The focus of attention has moved on to costing the policies, promises and projections of the major parties. The Nats’ are desperate to have the media focus stay on the mote in Labour’s eye, and ignore the beam in their own. In the interests of informed choice, let’s hear both sides of the story…
Open mike 08/11/2011
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 8th, 2011 - 71 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Praise for the Occupation movement
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 pm, November 7th, 2011 - 15 comments
In an Editorial that would not have been out of place as a post on ‘The Standard’ The Herald praises the Occupiers of city squares around the country, (and around the world).
Robyn Malcolm on Key
Written By: - Date published: 3:03 pm, November 7th, 2011 - 113 comments
Interesting to see a high profile, popular celebrity come out and speak her mind on John Key. Nothing like calling a shovel a shovel…
Show me the policy
Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, November 7th, 2011 - 51 comments
We’re three weeks out from the election, and there’s something funny going on. National has hardly any policy out. Parties typically go into an election with a pretty comprehensive lineup of policy covering a very wide range of issues. Do the Nats really not have any plans, or are they just keeping them quiet to win a second term?
End of night classes makes for a poorer society
Written By: - Date published: 11:04 am, November 7th, 2011 - 30 comments
The number of people attending adult community education has fallen by 80% since National’s cuts in 2009. National’s cuts have saved only $24m (vs the $1.1b cost of the ‘fiscally neutral’ tax cuts) but have denied over a quarter of a million people the opportunity to broaden their horizons and acquire new skills. National is leaving a poorer society behind it.
What’s with the “babes”?
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, November 7th, 2011 - 40 comments
Political equality – 118 years and counting – still some way to go….
Greens go red, Labour goes green
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, November 7th, 2011 - 67 comments
We live in a time of inter-related crises of the environment and the capitalist economic system. So, I guess it’s not surprising to see Labour becoming more environmentally aware at the same time as the Greens propose economic policies that would normally be out of Labour’s playbook. Don’t worry about them becoming too alike, welcome the solid platform for a new government.
John Key puts truth on 90 day term deposit
Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, November 7th, 2011 - 46 comments
hattip William Joyce
Insight on poverty
Written By: - Date published: 6:56 am, November 7th, 2011 - 49 comments
Sunday morning’s RNZ Insight program was an excellent examination of poverty in NZ. Labour’s policies were slowly reducing poverty. National’s are making it worse again. How much do we care?
Open mike 07/11/2011
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 7th, 2011 - 57 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Credit downgrade and the banks
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 pm, November 6th, 2011 - 9 comments
Bill Rosenberg from the NZCTU and Massey’s School of Banking Studies David Tripe will speak tomorrow at St John’s Church in Wellington at 5:30pm on the credit down grade and the banks. All welcome, register at www.fabians.org.nz. Bernard Hickey in today’s Herald was also interesting about the banks’ profits.
A footnote to history
Written By: - Date published: 3:06 pm, November 6th, 2011 - 30 comments
In which which Winston Peters rules out working with any possible government. Not that it matters, but, way to make your party irrelevant Winston.
Why no photo-op for Banks?
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, November 6th, 2011 - 34 comments
John Key has been asked if he will be giving an explicit order to National voters in Epsom to vote for John Banks. He said ‘not today’. He said that a few weeks ago too. No photo-op of Key shaking Banks’ hand either. Why the hold-up? What could possibly be behind National wariness of linking Brand Key to Banks?
Nats’ $11b budget hole
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, November 6th, 2011 - 160 comments
Last year and the year before, the portions of the assets National wants to sell paid over $400 million in dividends. Labour estimates lost dividends from those assets would total $11 billion by 2026. That’s an $11 billion hole in National’s budgets they haven’t accounted for. When will National front up and show us the money?
Keep calm and vote MMP
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, November 6th, 2011 - 17 comments
Campaign for MMP has recently started selling T-shirts as part of their campaign fundraising.
Their “Keep Calm and Vote MMP” T-shirts are a very reasonably priced $40 and come in a stylish black.
The impact of right wing economics
Written By: - Date published: 8:14 am, November 6th, 2011 - 32 comments
1980 saw the election of Ronald Regan as US president. On taking office at the start of 1981 he ushered in a package of right wing economic policies that soon picked up the nick-name “Reganomics”. How did that work out for workers and for inequality?
Open mike 06/11/2011
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 6th, 2011 - 77 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
John Key too drunk to drive
Written By: - Date published: 1:15 pm, November 5th, 2011 - 49 comments
hattip: tumeke
Show me the jobs
Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, November 5th, 2011 - 46 comments
Unemployment up again. Key had bet on some kind of economic boost from the RWC. It didn’t happen. 3,000 more jobs lost in the last quarter. There’s 59,000 more people out of work since the Nats won power. It’s like a whole city the size of Hamilton has gone out of work under National. This government has the worst economic record in generations.
Time for Nats to front up over lost dividends
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, November 5th, 2011 - 69 comments
Labour’s fiscal strategy takes National’s projections and adds or subtracts money for its policies. The clever thing is they alter the Nats’ projections to remove all the dividend revenue from assets they want to sell. How much is taken off National doesn’t affect if Labour gets back to surplus in 2014 – but it makes National’s projections more accurate. The Nats are complaining.
Climate change predictions
Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, November 5th, 2011 - 125 comments
Predictions on global greenhouse gas emissions have turned out to be wrong. The real emissions are higher than the worst case projections. Models of warming, however, have been confirmed as accurate. Here in NZ a joint VUW / Otago study makes damning criticisms of the Nats’ record on climate change.
Open mike 05/11/2011
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 5th, 2011 - 120 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Acshully John, you will be a monkey’s uncle
Written By: - Date published: 8:43 pm, November 4th, 2011 - 44 comments
John Key was really revving the crap out of his denimic environment generator today trying to discredit Labour’s costings for its policies. Either Key really is shit at math or he’s no clearer on Labour’s policies than he is on National’s.
hattip: a very prescient Jackal
Weekend social 04/11/2011
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, November 4th, 2011 - 9 comments
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no aggro, why can’t we all just get along?
Absurd arguments
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, November 4th, 2011 - 69 comments
National likes to take Labour proposals and extend them to the point of absurdity. Labour needs to fight fire with fire. Here’s a few examples…
Labour shows us the money
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, November 4th, 2011 - 155 comments
Labour has shown us the money. In surplus in the same time frame as National, and paying off debt faster because we keep the revenue streams from owning our own assets.
TVNZ and Herald polls
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, November 4th, 2011 - 53 comments
Two polls out yesterday show no significant changes, with National well in front. Don’t panic! The campaign has only just started. Events always take a while to show up in the polls. The Left needs to see movement soon – time’s running out fast – but it isn’t a surprise not to see it yet.
- ‘If we can do a wedding in 5 days, we can do anything we set our minds to’
Comment: Some people make long lists of things they want to do. When my partner Solly and I decided we wanted to get married, just five days before I flew out on tour with the Black Ferns and he flew out to play for Biarritz, I said, ‘well, how many ...1 week ago - To belong should never be beyond hope
Opinion: I recently had a wonderful meal with Bariz Shah and his wife Saba, together with their two pre-school children. I had to admit that I hadn’t read Bariz’s book Beyond Hope yet, but after talking about their life over dinner, I knew I had to read it.Imagine arriving in Auckland ...1 week ago
- ‘It was just the right word’: When ‘bugger’ took New Zealand by storm
Summer reissue: It’s a quarter of a century since the nation was stopped in its tracks by a dog saying the word ‘bugger’. This is the complete history of Buggermania – the ad, the controversy, and the enduring legacy. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we ...1 week ago - On being undeniably, irretrievably old
Summer reissue: David Hill is in his ninth decade. In a touching tribute to his late friend, he challenges some myths about ‘old farts’. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign ...1 week ago
- The half-a-million-dollar decision that still haunts the book industry
Summer reissue: Narrative Muse was awarded $500,000 to boost sales of New Zealand books. Three years later, industry insiders report that it has had little, if any, impact. What went wrong? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. ...1 week ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 2 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 2 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Daily crossword, Thursday 2 January
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- Obituary: Former Race Relations Conciliator Wally Hirsh dies
Brought to this country by his German Jewish refugee parents in 1938, Hirsh said his membership of a minority gave him special sensitivity to race issues. ...1 week ago - Getting jiggy with it: Inside the wild world of competitive speed puzzling
Summer reissue: If you thought jigsaw puzzles were meant to be relaxing, think again. Tara Ward lifts the lid on one of the Masters Games’ most intense and demanding events. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please ...1 week ago
- All 85 of The Spinoff’s rankings, ranked from worst to best
Summer reissue: The rankers become the ranked: Hera Lindsay Bird tackles the most meta ranking of them all. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. ...1 week ago
- Set your political imagination free (and some pleas for humanity in the NY)
Opinion: I got this book as holiday reading (I know, what a nerd!) but read it straight away. Although David Runciman is a professor, he also does popular podcasts and this is very accessible. It wanders through an eclectic bunch of thinkers who share a goal of “liberating our political ...1 week ago
- The NZ ‘voice of the century’ who wound up in a psych hospital for 16 years
Summer reissue: Mina Foley was a formidable talent dogged by wild rumours about her mental breakdown. What is the truth? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...1 week ago
- Ten wild political predictions for 2025
For the eighth year in a row, The Spinoff asked a hand-selected group of experts for their most outlandish political prophecy. And for the eighth year in a row, they did not disappoint. Madeleine Chapman (editor, The Spinoff) Winston Peters will realise just how bad it feels to hand over ...1 week ago
- How Mukpuddy conjured up a bold new vision of Badjelly the Witch
Mukpuddy co-founder Ryan Cooper tells Alex Casey about bringing Badjelly to a whole new generation of New Zealand kids. They conjured Badjelly back with a simple tweet. It was sometime in 2018 when Ryan Cooper’s co-founder of Mukpuddy animation studios Alex Leighton was sketching a witch, and wondered aloud if ...1 week ago
- Daily crossword, Wednesday 1 January
The post Daily crossword, Wednesday 1 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 1 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: ...1 week ago
- Animal Justice Party Condemns Planned Mass Euthanasia Of 1,000 Canada Geese In Christchurch
"This mass slaughter is an ineffective, inhumane, and costly waste of ratepayers' money," says Danette Wereta, General Secretary of the AJP. "It’s a short-term fix that fails to address the root causes of the issue and risks exacerbating the problem ...1 week ago - Vaping kits to be made free for smokers to help them quit
The government will be supplying vaping starter kits to stop-smoking services around the country next week to help adults quit. ...2 weeks ago
- What has The Warehouse done to my favourite song?
Summer reissue: Alex Casey watches on in horror as the red shed makes a mockery of a beloved 1999 classic. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...2 weeks ago
- 2025 New Year Honours: Six people named Knights and Dames
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has named six people Knights or Dames as part of the 2025 New Year Honours. ...2 weeks ago
- How the Gen Z broccoli haircut became big business for a teen barber
Summer reissue: Three teenage barbers in Mt Albert have capitalised on a viral haircut to build businesses on Instagram. Duncan Greive gets a haircut and a lesson in modern business. Photography by Jin Fellet. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these ...2 weeks ago
- The cultural Cabinet’s top picks
Laura Walters, political editorBookThe Men Who Killed the News: The inside story of how media moguls abused their power, manipulated the truth, and distorted democracy by Eric BeecherPerhaps 2024 was the best and worst year to read this book by Aussie media executive Eric Beecher. At a time when news ...2 weeks ago
- ‘My grandmother lived to 112; despite cancer I’m good for a few more years’
Comment: About a year ago, a very close friend of mine told me that she had stage four cancer. I knew what it felt like to make that phone call telling friends and whānau of one’s plight because I had the same experience and, at the time, was in the ...2 weeks ago
- Hastening 2024’s demise with unstructured days of reading
Opinion: Many of us will be pleased to see the back of 2024 with its global unrest, recession and uncertainty. Longer, sunnier days signal that the dumpster fire that was this year is fast coming to an end.To hasten 2024’s demise I’ve started dreaming about my summer holidays: unstructured days of ...2 weeks ago
- The true story behind New Zealand’s emporium empire
Summer reissue: Before $2 shops and Temu, there were Arthur’s, Geoff’s and Pete’s Emporiums – and that was only the beginning. As these local institutions mark their biggest day of the year, Gabi Lardies delves into their shared history. Editor’s note: This story was first published on October 31, 2024. ...2 weeks ago
- The first Wellingtonian
Summer reissue: Hundreds of years ago, a man named Tara founded the first permanent human settlement in Wellington. The city still bears his name: Te Whanganui a Tara. But what do we actually know about him? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue ...2 weeks ago
- Can Sandringham’s South Asian flavour survive gentrification?
Summer reissue: Thirty years ago, Sandringham wasn’t known for Indian food at all. What will it look like in another three decades? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...2 weeks ago
- Daily crossword, Tuesday 31 December
The post Daily crossword, Tuesday 31 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 weeks ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 31 December
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 31 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 weeks ago
- Opposing The Normalization Of Apartheid Through Sport
Welcoming Israeli athletes to Aotearoa is not a neutral act. It normalizes the systemic injustices perpetrated by the Israeli state against Palestinians. ...2 weeks ago
- Protest Against Israeli Tennis Player At The ASB Tennis Classic Today
Glushko has served in the Israeli military and is an Israeli army reservist. She is representing the rogue, apartheid state of Israel at the tournament. ...2 weeks ago
- A complete list of things I only know about because of The Office
Summer reissue: A spider is an arachnid, not an insect… and 50 other fun and obscure facts, names, places and phrases. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be ...2 weeks ago
- Dream job or idle fantasy? What it’s like running horse treks in the Far North
Summer reissue: Selena Anderson from Ahipara Horse Treks seems to have a perfect job. But what’s it like behind the scenes? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be ...2 weeks ago
- Sez Says: A final 24 thoughts on 2024
1. Lydia Ko clocked golf in 2024. Winning an Olympic gold medal in Paris to complete her set (bronze in Tokyo, silver in Rio), Ko then had the necessary requirements to be inducted into the LGPA Hall of Fame at just 27 years old. Two weeks after the victory in ...2 weeks ago
- Academics ‘indoctrinating’ students? What the Dickens!
Opinion: I retired from academic life three years ago, having taught mainly 19th-century British literature at Auckland University since 1987. One thing I am pleased to have avoided once retiring is being regularly caught up in the very histrionic representation of universities and their staff in current public rhetoric. But ...2 weeks ago
- Peters on NZ First: ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet’
Winston Peters doesn’t trust the polls.They’re unreliable – he knows it, you know it, and we all know it, as the man himself might say.Yet when Peters sits down with Newsroom to discuss New Zealand First’s plans for 2025, polling is the first thing he brings up.“Our internal polls all ...2 weeks ago
- Is cooking with dog food instead of meat actually fine? I gave it a go
Summer reissue: Results ranged from surprisingly yum to soul-destroying. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. I love cooking. The kitchen is a hearth of ...2 weeks ago
- When and where does a ‘bach’ become a ‘crib’?
Summer reissue: Alex Casey goes on a linguistic journey to find the true difference between who’s using ‘bach’ and ‘crib’ across our fair nation. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign ...2 weeks ago
- ‘Everything I do in life, I do it for my donor’: Inside Aotearoa’s struggling organ donation s...
Summer reissue: We don’t have enough organ donors in New Zealand. The Spinoff investigates the problem – and how we might fix it. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...2 weeks ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 30 December
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 30 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 weeks ago
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