Author Archive

Wasting Police time

Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, October 20th, 2011 - 19 comments

Anyone noticed the sudden overbearing presence of Police at peaceful protests? Bugging Greenpeace and intimidating lawful activists. 25 Police at a 150-strong anti-deepsea drilling protest in Tauranga. 12 officers at a 60 worker picket at CMP Rangitikei. Are they just hyper because of the Cup or is it about shielding businesses from people exercising their democratic right to protest?

No pay rises under Nats

Written By: - Date published: 1:26 am, October 19th, 2011 - 81 comments

St. Augustine said “Lord, give me chastity, but not yet”. Was reminded of that reading the Tories’ reaction to Labour’s work and wages policy. Tories say they want you to have higher wages. But not yet. It’s always later. Once you’ve earned it. In the ‘brighter future’. And they’ll scream blue murder any time you demand what you deserve today.

Time to take back what’s ours

Written By: - Date published: 6:16 am, October 18th, 2011 - 117 comments

update: Labour’s policy is here. Looks good. $15 minimum wage. Mondayisation of holidays. Industry standards to stop bad employers undercutting ones that pay fair wages. Good for workers. Good for good bosses. It’s a lot like the system the Aussies have. You know, the people whose wages we’re meant to be catching up with. The Tories are whinging. Like they do whenever anyone fights for higher wages

Nat minister: we don’t want success for other people

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, October 17th, 2011 - 23 comments

Which National Cabinet Minister said to Allan Peachey “You want success for other people. You’re a very enriching person whereas the rest of us have all come from backgrounds where we look after ourselves”? It’s a pretty revealing quote. National’s ministers aren’t about the greater good. They’re in it for their own glory.

Fools rush in

Written By: - Date published: 1:55 pm, October 14th, 2011 - 55 comments

Labour has announced it will put a moratorium on deepsea oil drilling until it’s proven safe. Good. Basic precautionary principle. Clearly necessary given the piss-poor handling of a relatively small spill. Besides, there’s no rush to dig this stuff up. It’s not going anywhere and we can only extract it once. Will only become more valuable over time.

All at sea

Written By: - Date published: 10:35 pm, October 13th, 2011 - 60 comments

* Tupperwaka: $200K per day
* Specialist environmental response vessel: Dunno, didn’t bother buying it.
* Leaving scene of shipwreck/oil disaster to open fake boat made from oil products: valueless

Just me or is he developing a severe list? Could be in danger of breaking up.

Can we risk a real spill?

Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, October 13th, 2011 - 30 comments

The Rena disaster has put the spotlight on the environmental risks of National’s deepsea oil drilling plans. Yes, they’re not the same thing. In fact, an oil spill from a drilling platform or one of the ships serving it is more likely than from a freighter plowing into a well-known reef.* And there’s a hell of a lot more oil involved.

Key’s secret emailer unmasked

Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, October 13th, 2011 - 15 comments

Key says an anonymous emailer told him that S&P said a Labour Government would make a downgrade more likely (more likely than ‘actually, already happened?’). S&P categorically denies saying any such thing. We can now reveal the identity of the anonymous emailer.

Nats drag feet on Rena response

Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, October 12th, 2011 - 184 comments

In a depressingly familiar pattern, National is more interested in avoiding responsibility than fixing the Rena disaster. They left it to Maritime NZ. Who left it to the shipping company. Now, the oil’s coming ashore. The promised soldiers didn’t show up yesterday. All the Nats can do is criticise locals for acting on their own.

S&P outs Key on two more downgrade lies

Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, October 10th, 2011 - 49 comments

The lies keep flowing as National desperately tries to limit the damage from the double downgrade. First, it was ‘doesn’t matter’ – Treasury says it does. Then, “hey, it’s just private debt” – the agencies’ reports say otherwise. Then it was just an international problem – less 1/4 of the OECD has been downgraded. Then, somehow, it was all Labour’s fault and would be worse under Labour – S&P says they’re lying on that too.

Rugby

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 pm, October 8th, 2011 - 51 comments

Just flicked on TV1 to see what’s happening in the rugby. Host is a man who pushed his partner down the stairs. Kicked her as she lay. Broke her back in 4 places. Cause he’s ‘famous’ he got off with only 300 hours CS & a 10K fine. He bribed her to keep it out of the news. Tells me a lot that TVNZ thinksVeitch is an acceptable face of their station and of rugby. Then I switched off. [Fuck, Veitch is on Radiosport. It was Devlin on the TV. My point still applies to Radiosport]

Losing the class war

Written By: - Date published: 12:32 pm, October 7th, 2011 - 73 comments

The median (‘typical’) Kiwi income has fallen 6% under National after inflation. It’s worse if you’re Maori – 16%. And if you’re PI? 21%. That’s more than a hundred dollars a week. It’s a disgrace. In fact, ordinary people’s incomes have shrunk faster than the economy under National. Their policies have driven more of what’s left to the rich.

Over-promise, under-deliver: whaling

Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, October 6th, 2011 - 5 comments

Remember when Key had a super-duper secret plan to end whaling? Turned out the ‘plan’ was to restore commercial whaling as long as they promised to stop some time (the draft ‘phase-out’ plan didn’t actually have any reductions in it). Well, over-promise, under-deliver Key’s made no progress and whaling is resuming.

Bait and switch

Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, October 5th, 2011 - 27 comments

The national icon suddenly announces that the future of the thing we pride ourselves is at stake. Some big mean foreigners are going to take if off us. Oh no, oh no! Fortunately, there’s a solution. It just requires a few tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. Sound familiar? As with the Hobbit, now with the All Blacks. We got suckered once. Will we again?

English: poll downgrade coming

Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, October 4th, 2011 - 12 comments

Bill ‘Double Dipton’ (or should that be ‘Double Downgrade’?) English says people aren’t focused on politics, which is why National is so high in the polls. When they focus on the main election issue of economic management, DD says the gap will close. Not exactly a strong defence of his and Key’s performance as economic leaders.

Says it all

Written By: - Date published: 3:17 pm, September 30th, 2011 - 60 comments

Their deaths, Key’s PR

Written By: - Date published: 8:22 pm, September 29th, 2011 - 22 comments

Key says we have to leave men in Afghanistan, killing and dying, to “honour” the ones we’ve lost. Typical chickenhawk bullshit. This isn’t about ‘tearism’ or ‘Afghanistanians’ or ‘honour’. It’s all about PR. All about politics. Before Smith’s even in the ground, this arsehole Key is spinning his death for PR. Just like Pike River. Just like the earthquake dead.

Chart o’ the day: Muddling through

Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, September 29th, 2011 - 21 comments

Muddling through in Chch

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, September 28th, 2011 - 19 comments

250 jobs lost at Chch meatworks.
55 jobs lost at Canterbury leather.
Insurers warn they’ll pull out.
Kaiapoi redzoners to be $24K worse off. That’s before they get screwed by the landbankers.
10,000 Cantabrians left for overseas in the past year.
The recovery ‘delayed‘ again. It’s clear we still haven’t hit bottom.
The Nat’s plan: “muddling through”

Over-promise, under-deliver

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, September 26th, 2011 - 28 comments

John Hartevelt – “Key is massively over-exposed on any number of fronts, but nowhere more so than at Pike River.” Key routinely promises big: close the wage gap, roaring out of recession, national cycleway, no equity loss for redzoners, Pike River bodies out, no GST hike, whaling solved, brighter future. He NEVER delivers. How does […]

Banks’ Epsom chances up in smoke?

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, September 26th, 2011 - 66 comments

Decriminalising marijuana just makes sense. 400,000 people are regular users. Prohibition costs half a billion a year, is ineffective, and fuels the gangs. So good on Brash for raising the issue. It’s totally consistent with ACT’s values. Problem is, John Banks and Don Nicolson don’t share those values. Gonna be fun to watch Banks on this issue in Epsom.

Trotie – the dubstep remix

Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, September 16th, 2011 - 4 comments

Truth to power?

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, September 15th, 2011 - 27 comments

Does “a meticulous compiler and ferreter out of information that some people would wish to keep secret” sound like a good definition for ‘journalist’ to you? Not according to the Dom. Apparently, that’s what Nicky Hager is. And he’s not a ‘real journalist’? So, what is a journo’s job if not compile sensitive information and speak truth to power?

Minister for bad behaviour

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, September 13th, 2011 - 50 comments

The SMH reports: a New Zealand government minister “was yelling out, ‘f—ing cheats’ and other offensive remarks” at the Wallabies during the Australia v Italy game. Hmm. The game was at North Harbour. Who is a local MP, a minister, and has a record of bad behaviour in corporate boxes?

Not just one of those things

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, September 9th, 2011 - 25 comments

Interesting to see the truth coming out about the NZ media’s hero Peter Whittall. Pike River was very much Whittall’s baby. 29 of his employees died in the mine he designed and ran. I’d be interested to hear from a journo the story of why the NZ media chose to portray this as an unavoidable accident, and exonerated the company from the start.

A politician makes promises; a leader keeps them

Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, September 7th, 2011 - 25 comments

“Just keep to your promises. I was at some of the family meetings where you promised off camera to parents who were in tears that you would do your utmost to try to get the men out. Money was not a problem. Those same parents have gone home and cradled their kids that are crying. Do what you say and just pull your finger out and do it.”

Need to know

Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, September 3rd, 2011 - 24 comments

See Small on Hager yesterday? He’s all like “of course I knew we’re working with US intelligence but I
didn’t tell you because, duh, it’s not important”. It was the same story with the Hollow Men and the secret tape revelations. Wonder what other “unimportant” stuff journos don’t tell us in the interests of maintaining access and being part of the elite.

Worlds apart

Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, September 1st, 2011 - 47 comments

Spotted in an English pub. Check out the artist’s name.

Who to believe?

Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, August 31st, 2011 - 38 comments

Nats plan to sell $2b+ assets overseas

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, August 31st, 2011 - 93 comments

The Nats say their ‘expectation’ is 30% of the assets they want privatise would go straight to foreigners. That’s just their lowside guess. More would be sold offshore by Kiwi buyers. Get $2b cash now from foreigners now. Lose $300m in returns year after year after year forever. And lose control of our future. Doesn’t add up.

Crushless Collins

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, August 26th, 2011 - 16 comments

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