Archive for January, 2014

And John Hayes makes ten

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, January 20th, 2014 - 219 comments

John Hayes is the tenth National MP to announce his retirement from politics.  Will there be more?

Open mike 20/01/2014

Written By: - Date published: 7:06 am, January 20th, 2014 - 172 comments

Open mike is your post.  For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Step right up to the mike …

Off the Pages (impressions)

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, January 19th, 2014 - 11 comments

A very brief and broad brushstroke account of yesterday’s meeting at Dunedin Botanic Gardens.

What should David Cunliffe say in his state of the nation speech?

Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, January 19th, 2014 - 426 comments

David Cunliffe’s state of the nation speech is to be given on January 27 at Kelston in Auckland.  As a crowd sourcing exercise what are the things that he should be talking about and what are the issues that will change hearts and minds?

Open mike 19/01/2014

Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, January 19th, 2014 - 107 comments

Open mike is your post.  For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Step right up to the mike …

Sick

Written By: - Date published: 11:41 pm, January 18th, 2014 - 48 comments

Scoop and Whaleoil, a tale of two websites

Written By: - Date published: 6:50 am, January 18th, 2014 - 134 comments

Kim Dotcom has previously caused havoc amongst the ranks of ACT and National and now has caused significant disruption to the proudly independent Scoop media organisation.  And Cameron Slater has jumped on the bandwagon claiming that the payment of money was an anathema to any political blogsite because it distorted their independence.  The sense of irony is strong here …

Open mike 18/01/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:34 am, January 18th, 2014 - 74 comments

Open mike is your post.  For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Step right up to the mike …

UBI (2) Why should we push for a UBI? (Universal basic income).

Written By: - Date published: 3:37 pm, January 17th, 2014 - 27 comments

Why a UBI?

Firstly. To overturn some paradigms:
That a great many people should lead poor and constricted lives, so a very few can be rich.
That ordinary people are disposable economic production units.

National Breaches Crown Copyright

Written By: - Date published: 1:52 pm, January 17th, 2014 - 43 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity on the National Party’s use of public service videos for political ends.

There is science, and then there are dickheads

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, January 17th, 2014 - 153 comments

Over the last three centuries science has established a pretty robust technique for overturning consensus and examining the weirder areas of science. You have to publish. Waving an untestable vague idea of cause and effect around based on wordplay is something that is better left to politicians, con artists, and religionists. Waving his dick around like Rodney Hide did on Sunday merely proves that he doesn’t think with his brain.

Open mike 17/01/2014

Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, January 17th, 2014 - 275 comments

Open mike is your post.  For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Step right up to the mike …

How big were the TPPA gimmes, John?

Written By: - Date published: 7:14 pm, January 16th, 2014 - 82 comments

News of today’s leak in the TPPA reminded me how John Key conceded Barack Obama’s third putt in their Hawaii golf photo-op.  Golfers call it a “gimme.” I have absolutely no doubt the leaders will have discussed TPPA bottom lines on the golf course. Key will have made some concessions, but with his record of accommodating American corporate interest one can only hope he will not turn out to have given too much of our Pharmac away.

not a Party Party treat, Internet Party instead?

Written By: - Date published: 4:35 pm, January 16th, 2014 - 57 comments

It looks like the ever expanding party party treat (aka KDC birthday) may be an electoral “treat” – it has been cancelled. Instead we are being promised a political party.

Confused? I’m not.

David Cunliffe plans State of the Nation speech

Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, January 16th, 2014 - 188 comments

David Cunliffe is planning to give a state of the nation speech in Kelston on Monday Janury 27.

Off The Pages – reminder

Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, January 16th, 2014 - 9 comments

Saturday afternoon. 1 O’Clock. Bandstand in Dunedin Botanic Gardens.

The politics of food: Oxfam report

Written By: - Date published: 11:08 am, January 16th, 2014 - 10 comments

Some MSM reports crow about positive economic indicators, & decreases in the time people spend on benefits. Such statistics fail to show inequalities, & struggles of people on low incomes.  An Oxfam comparative international report on food security is not good news for NZ, or the world.

NRT: Dirty dairying and moral culpability

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, January 16th, 2014 - 30 comments

There seems to be a divide in kiwi farming at present. On one side those just after a quick buck based on dirtying the cheap resource of water held in common. On the other generational family farmers. The result is a classic tragedy of the commons problem that we will be paying to clean up for many generations.

Polity: Taxpayers Union on wine

Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, January 16th, 2014 - 28 comments

Polity had this post up this morning. The only problem with it was that Rob Salmond missed out on the correct title. For complete accuracy it should have been “Jordan Williams on whine”

Update: Looks like the Herald has a retraction coming.

Open mike 16/01/2014

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, January 16th, 2014 - 142 comments

Open mike is your post.  For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Step right up to the mike …

The Internet Party

Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, January 15th, 2014 - 304 comments

Kim Dotcom’s Internet Party appears to be ready to take off.  And if the rumours are true he has some heavyweight advisers and a strategy that may threaten National more than any other party.

Polity: English lies on impact of tax switch

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, January 15th, 2014 - 15 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity has been having a look at Bill English’s “neutral” tax change in 2010…

Bill English recently heralded his tax switch as making net tax more progressive. He lied. It actually made net tax at least $500 million more regressive.

Open mike 15/01/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:50 am, January 15th, 2014 - 205 comments

Open mike is your post.  For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Step right up to the mike …

Health and Safety Rep Training – a cut by any other name

Written By: - Date published: 6:40 pm, January 14th, 2014 - 140 comments

Jordan Williams and Simon Lusk

I couldn’t give a rats arse about Jordan Williams and his new little Act campaigning vehicle against the State, but I do care about health and safety and the manner in which some of the media have run his latest little ruse against training health and safety representatives in the workplace is a disgrace. Judith Collins has used it as a cover to announce the end of worker health and safety training by unions beyond this year, leaving workers unable to access the powers under the Health and Safety Act to issue hazard notices and represent their workmates.

Down among the women: limits of ‘growth’

Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, January 14th, 2014 - 97 comments

The GDP measure fails to account for life sustaining activities outside paid employment.  Women do the majority of such unpaid work.  A gender blind approach to financial crises is socially and economically destructive.   An alternative, cooperative social and economic model would attend to gender and other diversities.

Auckland Council’s next 100 days

Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, January 14th, 2014 - 46 comments

Auckland Council probably has only 100 days left to sort itself out.  Otherwise it is going to be a long three years where the prospects of good being achieved will be poor.

Open mike 14/01/2014

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, January 14th, 2014 - 208 comments

Open mike is your post.  For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Step right up to the mike …

Paula Bennett wastes taxpayers money on drug testing

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, January 13th, 2014 - 108 comments

The first results of Paula Bennett’s drug testing of beneficiaries has been released.  Only 0.27% of the 8,000 beneficiaries required to be tested either failed or refused to take the test.  The testing is a colossal waste of money but is performing an important political role by making the Government look like it is being tough on beneficiaries.

Open mike 13/01/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:59 am, January 13th, 2014 - 154 comments

Open mike is your post.  For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Step right up to the mike …

UBI (1). Memes and Paradigms.

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 pm, January 12th, 2014 - 227 comments

Those growing up after the 80’s will find it hard to imagine the paradigm shift, that was the rise of Neo-liberalism, in the 80’s, in New Zealand. The colossal untested experiment, it really was,  and the huge shift of wealth from the lower and middle classes to the richest of us.

ImperatorFish: Unity!

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, January 12th, 2014 - 22 comments

In which ImperatorFish vows to turn over a new leaf and despite the outrageous and completely unfair barbs aimed in his direction. He will NOT respond to the wrong thinking arseholes! Afterall this is election year.

It is nice that he has included the “pond slime over at The Standard” in this vow.

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