Author Archive

Economic cycle

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:52 am, August 20th, 2011 - 24 comments

Prime Minister John Key has reacted to growing fears that the world is slipping into a second round of financial crisis and recession before it has recovered from the first one by boldly opening a 180km cycleway through the King Country. Part of a $50m cycleway project, it is expected to boost the economy by $5-$20 quadrillion, according to the PM.

Bring back check inspectors

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:31 pm, August 18th, 2011 - 30 comments

Nats have announced 6 more DoL safety inspectors for mines and oil drilling. Up from 2 now (only one position filled). Sounds good but DoL’s failure at Pike River was systematic, not just about numbers. Where’s the stronger safety standards? Why aren’t they bringing back worker-elected check inspectors? The miners want them. Why don’t the Nats listen?

Key fiddles while our youth burns

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 1:27 pm, August 14th, 2011 - 329 comments

Like the UK, we have a crisis in youth poverty. We don’t have riots, yet, because we lack the population density. There’s no jobs. Increasingly, no hope. Key’s solution? Tinkering. A bureaucratic, easily beatable system where young people on benefits get food stamps and basic costs paid directly. Where are the jobs, Key? Or have you given up?

Don’t penny pinch on Chch rebuild

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:24 pm, August 12th, 2011 - 23 comments

Anyone else feel their heart freeze a little more when Brownlee labeled Christchurch’s rebuild plan “a pretty big wish list”? Here’s a once in generations chance to rebuild a city from the ground up. Going to cost tens of billions anyway. Why cheapskate by a few hundred million? Better to build a truly world-leading city designed for the future.

Future focus fizzer

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:45 am, August 9th, 2011 - 31 comments

Nats are skiting at getting some people off the dole. But what really happened. How much was really saved?

Try hard Key’s audition tape

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 1:29 pm, August 6th, 2011 - 37 comments

January 2009. Jobs are being lost at 4,000 per week. Key and his government have just come back from a month long holiday. First thing he does: makes an audition tape for Letterman. Notice how all the jokes are taking the mickey out of our country. Makes you real proud.

It’s who you know

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 6:02 pm, August 4th, 2011 - 174 comments

Who cares whether or not the SIS briefed Phil Goff over whether or not some Israelis were Mossad? What does interest me it this: Secretive SIS  denied Fairfax a copy of the briefing paper on the non-agents. Days later it magics up a copy of this classified paper for Nat muckraker Cameron Slater. Who’s the SIS’s minister again? Oh yeah, John Key. Updated

Chart o’ the day: the real world

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:54 am, August 2nd, 2011 - 68 comments

Mythbustin’: guns save lives

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:31 am, July 29th, 2011 - 37 comments

Rightwing violence fetishists are exploiting the Norwegian terror attacks to call for looser gun laws. ‘If only one of those teenagers had a handgun to take on the drugged up zealot with the automatic rifle’. Fact is, the ‘guns save lives’ myth was destroyed by the Tuscon shooting earlier this year. The armed bystander there nearly caused more innocent deaths.

Just resting in his account?

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:30 am, July 28th, 2011 - 9 comments

Did anyone else see the Herald article beginning: “A priest working as a senior executive at the Auckland University of Technology has resigned after “accounting discrepancies” involving hundreds of thousands of dollars.” and think “the money was just resting in my account“?

No? Just me?

Why Key’s opportunism was sickening

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:02 am, July 26th, 2011 - 55 comments

The Right is whining that Key said “If [the Norway massacre] is an act of global terrorism, I think what it shows is no country large or small is immune from that risk and that’s why New Zealand’s played its part in Afghanistan” . ‘IF! Don’t you see, IF!’ Try to get the point, righties. Key opportunistically framed a tragedy for his political purposes.

Nats smear kindergartens

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:19 am, July 25th, 2011 - 57 comments

Tolley’s running a nasty little smear through Cameron Slater. See, non-profit kindergartens have millions in the bank while saying they need more cash. It must be a rip-off, eh? Yeah. Nah. The kindergartens just have the cash they’ve been given for future operations. So, why is Tolley trying to make this an issue?

Key’s sickening opportunism over Norway attacks

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:55 pm, July 23rd, 2011 - 263 comments

The bombing and shootings in Norway overshadowed Key’s meeting with Obama. But he was quick to exploit Norway’s tragedy for political gain saying: “I think what it shows is no country large or small is immune from risk [of ‘global’ terrorism] and that’s why New Zealand plays its part in Afghanistan.” Truth is, the attacker was a rightwing Norwegian.

[Update: more than 80 dead at the camp]

Worth every cent you’re paying

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:05 am, July 22nd, 2011 - 9 comments

3 days of dinners and walking around looking for a photo-op in LA done, Key’s in DC. But his meetings are being cancelled by people with better stuff to do. Not to worry. The big date is still on: providing “light relief“, in his own words, for Obama. Wonder if he’ll tell him in the one about the national cycleway. Or pull out the ‘brighter future’ gag.