Archive for February, 2014

Open mike 23/02/2014

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, February 23rd, 2014 - 250 comments

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

Labour’s Manukau East candidate selection

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, February 22nd, 2014 - 42 comments

Today the Labour Party selects its candidate for the Manukau East seat.  The seat is one of the safest Labour seats in the country and whoever wins could be in Parliament for a long time.  There is a strong lineup of candidates and the selection is a wide open one.  Update: and Jenny Selesa has been selected.

Politicheck New Zealand factcheck website

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, February 22nd, 2014 - 69 comments

New Zealand is getting its very own fact check website.

Open mike 22/02/2014

Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, February 22nd, 2014 - 174 comments

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

Rock star – “No depression”

Written By: - Date published: 11:46 am, February 21st, 2014 - 104 comments

Popular songs can capture the heartbeat of communities.  “Rock Star” economy”?  Or “No Depression in New Zealand”?  A song that links the NZ of Muldoon & John Key. “History Never Repeats”?  Who has pulled up the ladder & who wants to replace ladders with something more accessible to all?

The GCSB can’t count

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, February 21st, 2014 - 31 comments

The GCSB has eroded public confidence in its performance by displaying a concerning inability to count beyond four …

Open mike 21/02/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:52 am, February 21st, 2014 - 257 comments

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

Home thoughts from abroad

Written By: - Date published: 7:19 pm, February 20th, 2014 - 55 comments

Porirua mayor Nick Leggett has put up a couple  interesting posts about Labour’s prospects in the upcoming election in progressonline.  I think his political message is timely and true: Labour’s approach to this election cannot be “just a list of things that you’re against,” rather it should focus on what it’s for, and what it will do for New Zealanders. That could be very popular with voters.

David Cunliffe’s home

Written By: - Date published: 2:56 pm, February 20th, 2014 - 227 comments

National is now targeting David Cunliffe and his family.   Metiria Turei was attacked for living in a castle and wearing designer jackets, and now David Cunliffe is being attacked for being wealthy.  The criticisms miss the point.  There is nothing inherently wrong with being wealthy.  But there is everything wrong in setting fire to the ladder of social support after you have had the opportunity to climb it.

Polity: Chris Trotter – “gaseous exhalations”

Written By: - Date published: 11:37 am, February 20th, 2014 - 71 comments

Yesterday, Rob Salmond offered Chris Trotter a bet based on Chris writing an over-excited interpretation of an online poll. Who writes posts on the basis of online polls of less than 400 people? It is the same problem as interpreting small junk “markets” like iPredict which are rife with idiots of the right trying to push the odds away from reality with small amounts of cash. Really!

Tale of two Irelands

Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, February 20th, 2014 - 42 comments

Tracey recounts the rise and fall of the `financial genius` John Key’s pet financial hub for NZ to emulate the paragon economies that tried it. Like Ireland – the home of the jobless and deserted housing projects.

Fortunately he was somehow prevented from stuffing NZ in this way. However he did put in some legislation of dubious value to allow NZ to be used as a haven for hot money fleeing taxes…

Open mike 20/02/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:56 am, February 20th, 2014 - 210 comments

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

Forestry families bringing their message to Parliament

Written By: - Date published: 7:42 pm, February 19th, 2014 - 7 comments

Readers of The Standard have read and engaged on the campaign for forestry safety. There is now a Review underway and we need to maintain the organising momentum to ensure change is made. On 28 April is International Workers Memorial Day and we have invited the families of all workers killed since 2008 (that we have […]

NRT: No justice for electoral fraud

Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, February 19th, 2014 - 28 comments

Daljit Singh got an inappropriately short sentence for committing electoral fraud. It is hardly a deterrent to prospective politicians from trying to fiddle the electoral system. What was interesting was the way that the fraud was picked up – using back end systems. Far better than the type of populist stupidity to intimidate voters that National MP’s are currently supporting.

Polity: Key practices 56% truth inflation

Written By: - Date published: 3:48 pm, February 19th, 2014 - 21 comments

John Key makes up the figures during a session of parliament for the expected unemployment in coming years when he took office. The apparent reason is to make his governments piss-poor performance running the economy look better. Of course there is that problem that Rob Salmond can link to the December 2008 projections from the Treasury which show John Key to be lying (yet again).

Journalism (The Intercept)

Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, February 19th, 2014 - 38 comments

Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Jeremy Scahill have launched a new on-line investigative journalism site.

Poverty on the agenda

Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, February 19th, 2014 - 81 comments

The documentary ‘Mind the Gap’ and an interview with a UNICEF advocacy manager focus on poverty and inequality. Zombie “neoliberal” policies have increased poverty & inequality, damaging the futures of too many children. We will all benefit from good government policies underpinned by a commitment to collective approaches and responsibility.

Open mike 19/02/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:59 am, February 19th, 2014 - 243 comments

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

LB: Greens’ Solar Sense and National’s Nonsense

Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, February 18th, 2014 - 28 comments

Local Bodies looks at some (very cool) solar installations and the Greens solar policy. We are now seeing a stark contrast between a Government desperate to support the status quo of increasing charges and large company profits, while the future focussed Greens are truly progressive in their thinking.

Polity: Fizzy drinks: Tax or no tax?

Written By: - Date published: 2:48 pm, February 18th, 2014 - 80 comments

There has been some discussion recently about whether we should tax fizzy drinks as a threat to public health. Otago University public health people say yes. Various anti-tax groups say no. Here’s Rob Salmond’s 2c worth.

Some interesting arguments

Cameron Slater gets starring role in TVNZ drama

Written By: - Date published: 2:21 pm, February 18th, 2014 - 23 comments

Susan Nact reporting. In a dramatic turn of events, cadet reporter Tracy Whatshite (drinking in a Ponsonby cafe), found an envelope labelled “Top Secret, Property of TVNZ”. We can reveal that inside was a script for a new television series that will be screening on Channel Two later this year. The new drama, has a […]

Russel Norman to Colin Craig – Bring it on

Written By: - Date published: 7:28 am, February 18th, 2014 - 121 comments

Colin Craig has threatened Russel Norman with defamation proceedings unless he apologises for saying that Craig prefers women to be in the kitchen and gays should be in the closet.  Norman has refused to apologise.  At the risk of being thrown out of the Lawyers’ union shouldn’t they debate these issues publicly and let the public decide rather than fight it out in Court?

Open mike 18/02/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:50 am, February 18th, 2014 - 355 comments

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

Easy Vote or Voter Intimidation?

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 pm, February 17th, 2014 - 123 comments

Good to see Labour has stood up against National’s “harder-to-vote” revisions to the Electoral Amendment Bill, especially making voters now have to state their name to get a voting paper. The reason for this is to allow scrutineers to more easily challenge a voter’s credentials, and is similar to voter intimidation practices in conservative States in the US. Expect  National Party scrutineers questioning more voter credentials in the 2014 election.

CANA: Bathurst hits its own “perfect storm”

Written By: - Date published: 3:35 pm, February 17th, 2014 - 22 comments

Coal Action Network Aotearoa has this characteristic story of the problems with the cost structure of opportunistic mining in NZ.  The current world price of the coal found on the Denniston Plateau has sunk considerably below Bathurst Resources’ stated break-even price and shows no signs of rising.   What is the bet that NZ is going to wind up with another unwanted hole in the ground as a shell company gets folded up?

Plausible deniability: Smoke & mirrors

Written By: - Date published: 12:56 pm, February 17th, 2014 - 79 comments

It’s puzzling why John Key diverted attention from who spied on Winston Peters, by implicating Cameron Slater.  Following revelations about the 5 Eyes spying capabilities, & illegal surveillance of Kim Dotcom, there is much at stake for Key. Recapping some significant details in the surveillance saga.

National’s Herald shows its true colours

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, February 17th, 2014 - 113 comments

The NZ Herald starts cuddling up even closer to the National party. I guess they have definitely dropped that shallow facade of being the “Newspaper of Record”. Mind you, it isn’t a good look when Paula Bennett, the minister meant to take care of children, cuddles up with the heartless hypocrite who laughs at dead children. National really must be worried about this election.

Open mike 17/02/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:56 am, February 17th, 2014 - 178 comments

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

Russel Norman’s Campaign Conference Speech 2014: Going Solar

Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, February 16th, 2014 - 239 comments

The text of Russel Norman’s speech to the Green Party Conference given today.

Positive Things

Written By: - Date published: 2:27 pm, February 16th, 2014 - 21 comments

Change becomes embedded when it emanates from and across many quarters and traditions.

Fairfax quotes Government cheerleader

Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, February 16th, 2014 - 30 comments

Fairfax posted an article recently where three businessmen were interviewed on what they thought the political parties should be discussing this election year. The comments from the first interviewee were basically a John Key love in so I thought we should try and provide some balance …