Archive for April, 2018

What’s the Game?

Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, April 14th, 2018 - 194 comments

What the hell are Macron, May and Trump playing at?

Global finance and climate change

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, April 14th, 2018 - 18 comments

The two greatest powers at work in the world right now are the roles of global finance, and climate change. In New Zealand we don’t yet see how these intersecting worlds of finance and climate change are interacting, or the government’s role in forming that interaction. But this is close.

Dear Judith burning Oil and Gas is the worst thing for the climate

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, April 14th, 2018 - 73 comments

National now seems to adopt the position that climate change is real and has to be addressed.  But it is refusing to accept that to address the problem New Zealand is going to have to give up its reliance on oil and gas.

Open Mike 14/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 14th, 2018 - 126 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 …

Daily Review 13/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 5:47 pm, April 13th, 2018 - 16 comments

Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

Ice

Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, April 13th, 2018 - 35 comments

There’s something about Antarctica…

Homeless families are living in cars … and tents

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, April 13th, 2018 - 84 comments

Remember how early on during his reign as National leader John Key talked about the underclass and how they were a blight on New Zealand society?  Well over the past year WINZ has been giving grants to homeless families to live in tents.

Open Mike 13/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 13th, 2018 - 157 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 …

Daily Review 12/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, April 12th, 2018 - 23 comments

Daily review is also your post.  This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

Is New Zealand really as ‘racist as fuck’?

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, April 12th, 2018 - 85 comments

I am inclined to believe that there are at least some New Zealanders who are as “racist as fuck”.

Government blocks off shore oil and gas drilling

Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, April 12th, 2018 - 158 comments

The Government has announced that there will be no new offshore oil and gas exploration permits issued under the block offer process.

Crazees and clowns

Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, April 12th, 2018 - 42 comments

Can we have some sanity please?

Open Mike 12/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 12th, 2018 - 145 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 …

Daily Review 11/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, April 11th, 2018 - 12 comments

Daily review is also your post.  This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

Is this a new cold war?

Written By: - Date published: 4:10 pm, April 11th, 2018 - 17 comments

It’s really easy to get cranky right now and believe the world is retreating into to a sad Cold War binary in which Russia and its allies are always in high tension with the United States and its allies. A new Cold War.

We did not know it would be this bad

Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, April 11th, 2018 - 173 comments

Marama Davidson’s question to Jacinda Ardern in Parliament yesterday allowed Jacinda to outline the enormous mess the last National Government has left the country in.

Open Mike 11/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 11th, 2018 - 90 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 …

Daily Review 10/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, April 10th, 2018 - 27 comments

Daily review is also your post.  This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

What did we want from Marama Davidson?

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, April 10th, 2018 - 68 comments

James Shaw and Marama Davidson, standing together as Green Party co-leaders

While there has been some informed commentary on Marama Davidson’s ascension as co-leader of the Green Party, some of the more right-wing outfits have failed to understand the dynamics within the party right now. What did Marama promise, and what were Greens expecting of her?

The hidden infrastructure fiscal crisis gets real

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, April 10th, 2018 - 245 comments

Steven Joyce’s $11.7 billion fiscal hole is becoming more and more of a reality although it is in hidden infrastructure costs that National had suppressed in search of the elusive surplus.

immigration profiling

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, April 10th, 2018 - 43 comments

A data modelling programme that includes race and ethnicity as factors for consideration is a bad idea.

Open Mike 10/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 10th, 2018 - 167 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 …

Daily Review 09/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, April 9th, 2018 - 28 comments

Daily review is also your post.  This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

Mike Hosking reckons: Minimum wage increase will be terrible for everyone

Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, April 9th, 2018 - 159 comments

Mike Hosking reckons that an increase in the minimum wage will increase housing unaffordability and cause job losses and business closures.

free-to-air sports

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, April 9th, 2018 - 45 comments

The comprehensive Commonwealth Games coverage on free-to-air TV is refreshing and something we need to see a lot more of.

Explaining is losing (but only in politics)

Written By: - Date published: 6:24 am, April 9th, 2018 - 48 comments

Politics is war by other means and nobody likes losing.

Open Mike 09/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 9th, 2018 - 152 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 …

Green Party female co-leader announcement: Marama Davidson (updated)

Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, April 8th, 2018 - 208 comments

Marama Davidson is the new female co-leader. Speech and transcript, with a bit of  analysis of what this means for the party and NZ politics.

Labour speaks up.

Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, April 8th, 2018 - 5 comments

Partial transcript of a speech as reported in “The Independent”

Doofus of the week – April 7, 2018

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, April 8th, 2018 - 17 comments

Another easy decision. Gerry Brownlee wins for overseeing a $210 million blow out in EWC’s liability for Christchurch earthquake re-repair work and for being upset when Megan Woods called him on it.

Open Mike 08/04/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 8th, 2018 - 170 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 …