Author Archive
Congratulations France
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, October 7th, 2007 - 2 comments
Well that was painful to watch but good on France for really lifting their game. They defended strongly and took advantage when it counted. Let’s just hope that it makes winning here at home in 2011 that much sweeter.
Colourful advertising
Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, October 7th, 2007 - 2 comments
The Sony Bravia ads are among my all-time favourites. First we had the bouncy balls, then the paint explosions, now it’s clay bunnies.
Herald Editorial on National
Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, October 7th, 2007 - 2 comments
A scathing attack on the National Party policy development and release process from the Herald Editor: An Opposition seeking to style itself a Government in waiting needs to do better than run ideas up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes them… The suspicion suggests itself that National is costing the tax cuts that it […]
Ralston on National
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, October 7th, 2007 - 3 comments
A good read from Bill Ralston in the Herald today. He observes what seems to have been a turn in media and public opinion against Key and National, noting: But, frankly, National has only itself to blame. I wonder if Bill English is not out to deliberately lose the next election in the forlorn hope […]
Ethical coffee good for business
Written By: - Date published: 7:14 am, October 7th, 2007 - 2 comments
The Guardian reports that “Growing consumer demand for ethically sourced coffee has fuelled a huge year-on-year rise in sales”. Global sales of coffee, chocolate and bananas certified by the conservation organisation Rainforest Alliance – which supports the world’s poorest farmers in Latin America and Africa – exceeded £500m for the first time last year. Earlier […]
Obama stops wearing flag pin
Written By: - Date published: 5:19 pm, October 6th, 2007 - 2 comments
The big political news in the US in the last couple of days seems to have been Barack Obama’s decision to stop wearing a flag pin on his lapel. The pins have become more or less standard political attire since 9/11. Barack apparently believes the pin has become a “substitute” for true patriotism. “I decided […]
“100% Pure NZ” kicks off in Paris
Written By: - Date published: 5:01 pm, October 6th, 2007 - 3 comments
The Prime Minister yesterday officially opened Tourism New Zealand’s giant walk-in rugby ball, situated in front of the Eiffel tower in the Champs de Mars. The interior of the 25 metre long, 12 metre high ball is built to showcase New Zealand – with video projected on the internal surfaces. The ball structure is inflatable […]
Conservative humour
Written By: - Date published: 11:15 am, October 6th, 2007 - 1 comment
Paul Krugman of the New York Times reports that “On Wednesday, President Bush vetoed legislation that would have expanded S-chip, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, providing health insurance to an estimated 3.8 million children who would otherwise lack coverage.” He goes on to cite numerous instances where Republicans appear to think that if people […]
O’Sullivan defends Key’s comments
Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, October 6th, 2007 - 7 comments
Fran O’Sullivan of the Herald, has lept to John Key’s defence. She points to a couple of times back in 2003 when Clark and Goff reffer to “post-conflict” and “post-war” Iraq. Apparently their comments of four and a half years ago are meant to undermine any criticism of Key’s “The war in Iraq is over” […]
Classic hits DJs buying Key’s spin
Written By: - Date published: 2:48 pm, October 5th, 2007 - 7 comments
John Key seems intent on rewriting history. This must be about the 8th time he’s tried this tactic in the last couple of days. It’s an indictment on these radio hosts that they’re prepared to let him get away with it. The question Key was originally asked made no reference whatsoever of the invasion – […]
Many a true word is spoken in jest
Written By: - Date published: 1:27 pm, October 5th, 2007 - Comments Off on Many a true word is spoken in jest
The NBR this week – hardly a publication known for its politically balanced coverage – includes digs at both National Party blogger David Farrar and also John Key’s disasterous series of policy gaffes (though both by way of humour). Of course NBR readers are spared any serious commentary on the National Party policy train wreck. […]
Comment here. Get famous.
Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, October 5th, 2007 - Comments Off on Comment here. Get famous.
The NY Times reports: DASHIV is in town and the celebration has not ceased. Strange women are opening their apartments to him. Three parties have been given in his honor. His beer mug has been constantly refilled. All hail DaShiv. Who in the world is DaShiv? Well, in one sense he is Bob Hsiao, a […]
A mother’s response to John Key
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, October 5th, 2007 - 1 comment
Yesterday, Morning Report invited comment on Key’s “The war is over” from Celeste Zappala of Philadelphia. Her son, Sergeant Sherwood Baker, was killed in Baghdad three years ago. RNZ reports that “to say the war is over is not her experience”. CELESTE ZAPPALA (MOTHER OF A SOLDIER KILLED IN IRAQ): Well I guess I can’t […]
Our very own Jared
Written By: - Date published: 6:04 pm, October 4th, 2007 - Comments Off on Our very own Jared
So trickledown does work!
Written By: - Date published: 5:14 pm, October 4th, 2007 - 5 comments
Apparently when the senior members of the National Party are having a tough time, they take it out on their workers. How else to explain today’s meltdown by National Party blogger and HQ staff member, David Farrar? DPF isn’t his usual chirpy self at all and one can’t help but think that it might have […]
John “Parselmouth” Key
Written By: - Date published: 4:42 pm, October 4th, 2007 - 9 comments
John Key’s new line is that he was answering a different question to the one everyone heard him asked on RNZ yesterday. Three times in this latest bFM interview Key claims that he was answering a question on the invasion. This is his new line and boy can he stick to the script. This whole […]
You can fool some of the people…
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, October 4th, 2007 - 2 comments
…all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time, said Abraham Lincoln. John Key appears to be learning that lesson the hard way, much as Brash did with the Brethren. The PM once referred to Key as “insubstantial”. A […]
John Key to address UN General Assembly
Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, October 4th, 2007 - Comments Off on John Key to address UN General Assembly
But seriously. Can you imagine it? Clark and Key are chalk and cheese & and hardly anywhere more so than on their grasp of foreign policy. While Clark has spent the last week or so furthering our country’s interests abroad, Key’s had his foot firmly in his mouth. I only hope that the international media […]
RNZ this morning
Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, October 3rd, 2007 - 7 comments
People have been asking for details from this morning’s eye-opening RNZ interview with John Key. First, here’s the staggering quote from Key: powered by ODEO The interview kicked off with comment from Phil Goff on National’s recently released foreign policy document: HON PHIL GOFF: Oh I think that ah that imitation is the highest form […]
Paul Henry finally gets some balls
Written By: - Date published: 3:31 pm, October 3rd, 2007 - 3 comments
The media is clearly tiring of John Key’s vacuousness. You know the tide is turning when even Paul Henry turns on the Nats. I’ve embedded a two minute clip to show the tone of the interview. Here’s the link to the full piece.
Keith Locke on “The war in Iraq is over”
Written By: - Date published: 2:31 pm, October 3rd, 2007 - Comments Off on Keith Locke on “The war in Iraq is over”
“Until Mr Key put me wise, I had assumed the US and its coalition allies were bogged down fighting an intractable insurgency in Iraq that had seen a surge in US troop numbers earlier this year. “The deaths of 805 US troops and at least 13,600 Iraqi civilians this year alone were obviously due to […]
Wishing won’t make it so, John
Written By: - Date published: 2:26 pm, October 3rd, 2007 - 2 comments
My surprise has given way to anger. How dare John Key belittle the ongoing death and suffering in Iraq by dismissively claiming the war is over? Evidently he’s of much the same mind he was to begin with: Iraq is “too far away” to have an opinion on (Media ‘standup’, 2007).
Staggering
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, October 3rd, 2007 - 6 comments
John Key said on National Radio this morning “The war in Iraq is over”. Apparently that’s why no mention of it’s made in their lightweight foreign policy document. I’ll post on this later but in the meantime the audio of Phil Goff and Key is here.
Espiner scathing of National
Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, October 2nd, 2007 - 2 comments
And still the criticism of National pours forth. I’m tempted to post this whole piece by Colin Espiner entitled “There is a tide…”, there are some great lines in it. Essentially he points out that while the government’s riding high after successfully rolling out one of the most complex and significant pieces of policy of […]
Conservative c0ck-up
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, October 2nd, 2007 - Comments Off on Conservative c0ck-up
The Register reports that (link maybe NSFW) “a Tory blog has been penetrated by an act of classic web waggery after it leeched bandwidth via a picture used to illustrate a posting about party fees”. Rather than host their own image on their site the young Tories linked to a picture sourced at a personal […]
A message for DPF
Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, October 2nd, 2007 - Comments Off on A message for DPF
I just rediscovered Toothpaste for Dinner. Having narrowly recovered from a somewhat grueling experience reading this post over at Kiwiblog I thought I might just pass DPF a little friendly pictorial advice.
Undercover photo of Key at National HQ
Written By: - Date published: 10:38 am, October 2nd, 2007 - Comments Off on Undercover photo of Key at National HQ
Kiwiblogblog has a great undercover photo (you can tell ’cause it’s grainy) of John Key at National Party HQ. I won’t ruin the surprise by posting it here. Go check it out!
Run your own McDonald’s
Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, October 2nd, 2007 - Comments Off on Run your own McDonald’s
If you’ve got work to do, don’t read this post. Play This Thing has a review of The McDonald’s video game. It’s flash-based so runs right in your web-browser. Your job is to run a sucessful McDonald’s. The game’s splashscreen notes: Making money in a corporation like McDonald’s is not simple at all! Behind every […]
National looking after its own
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, October 2nd, 2007 - 2 comments
Yesterday NZ First’s Brian Donnelly said schools were “not a commodity to be exploited for profit by National’s privatising mates” and rightly asserted “The key question National has failed to answer is who will get rich from its plans…” Well a day later we know. Colin Espiner reports in the Press that one of the […]
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