Author Archive

The Californian canary

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:54 am, May 2nd, 2015 - 42 comments

Not that I wish any ill on Californians, but in the grand scheme of things it is probably good for our global chances of action to limit climate change that such a clear example of the damaging effects are playing out in the USA’s back yard.

Prosecuting Key

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:27 am, May 2nd, 2015 - 42 comments

Very wise of Bailey to dissociate herself from McCready, and make her own decisions about prosecuting Key.

(Image from Emmerson in The Herald)

Key on women’s rights

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:02 am, May 1st, 2015 - 29 comments

Key dodges women’s rights issues in Saudi Arabia. For obvious reasons really. In other media coverage of ponytail fallout…

(Image from Emmerson in The Herald)

Tauranga oil spill

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:08 am, April 30th, 2015 - 58 comments

If we can’t even do simple things like refuel safely there is no way that we can guarantee the safety of deep sea drilling off the coast of NZ.

The pope and climate change

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:51 am, April 30th, 2015 - 32 comments

The Pope is calling for action on climate change. Naturally, he is being attacked for it.

The Daily Blog under attack

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 4:46 pm, April 29th, 2015 - 110 comments

Earlier today Martyn Bradbury reported that The Daily Blog was under attack.

Update: Its running again. Nope down again.

Casual harassment

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:05 am, April 28th, 2015 - 89 comments

It was all a bit of fun. Have we become so casual about harassment?

A double standard for Saudi Arabia

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:06 am, April 28th, 2015 - 119 comments

If Saudi Arabia’s justice system and human rights record is as bad as Amnesty says it is, then this is not a country that we should be seeking closer economic ties with. Why the double standard?

Thanks David!

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:34 am, April 27th, 2015 - 32 comments

I’m planning to enjoy a day off today – the first “mondayised” public holiday – thanks to the work of David Clark, Grant Robertston, and others in Labour and the parties that supported the Bill. National and ACT voted against this holiday.

Nepal quake

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:37 am, April 26th, 2015 - 17 comments

As is all over the news this morning, Nepal and surrounding areas have been hit by a severe quake.

Abusive and creepy

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:30 am, April 24th, 2015 - 274 comments

Of all the ways Key could have shot his leadership and his legacy in the foot – this really was the stupidest.

Image from Emmerson in The Herald – definitive.

International laughing stock

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:49 am, April 23rd, 2015 - 72 comments

John Key has finally achieved the world fame he has clearly always wanted, but not in a good way. Here’s a roundup of the international coverage of his harassment.

International interest in Auckland property market

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:03 am, April 22nd, 2015 - 46 comments

If the latest ad running in Malaysia and Singapore is anything to go by we can expect more fuel to the Auckland property price flames. “How would you like people in New Zealand, to give you around half their weekly wages?”…

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:09 am, April 20th, 2015 - 148 comments

Terrorism in NZ? The Herald was in a frenzy yesterday, because apparently we are a “sitting duck”. But, hang on…

Spying on China

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:37 am, April 19th, 2015 - 100 comments

So great, now we’re trying to spy on China. What could possibly go wrong?

Housing and capital gains tax

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:02 am, April 18th, 2015 - 91 comments

This week the Reserve Bank recommended adopting the Labour / Green capital gains tax, the National party denied and dithered, and Don Brash explained the truth about the property bubble.

(Image credit Foxy.)

Wikileaks – Sony Archives

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:53 am, April 17th, 2015 - 6 comments

A Wikileaks dump of documents relating to Sony shows a close working relationship with the US government. Implications also for Kim Dotcom.

Spying for torturers

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:27 am, April 17th, 2015 - 19 comments

The most disturbing allegations yet in the Snowden leaks on the activities of the GCSB.

A culture of intimidation

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:35 am, April 16th, 2015 - 61 comments

National is leading by example in creating a culture of intimidation and fear. The latest case, a threat to withdraw funding a rape prevention group for speaking out.

The media bloodbath

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:03 am, April 16th, 2015 - 52 comments

On Alastair Thompson’s “Media Bloodbath” piece and more. Privately owned media will not in the future have a hope of delivering quality news services in this country. If we think that matters, then a strong publicly funded media presence is the only way forward.

Key’s pre-budget falls flat

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:29 am, April 15th, 2015 - 8 comments

Key’s attempts to drum up enthusiasm for this year’s upcoming budget have fallen absolutely flat. And as usual, promised funding actually represents an ongoing cut in real terms.

Burn the Cabinet Manual

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:27 am, April 15th, 2015 - 54 comments

Key won’t take any action over Simon Bridges’ clear breach (excellent work by Rob Salmond at Polity) of the Cabinet Manual. So, might as well burn the thing, at least for the remainder of this government’s term. Key has no intention of being held to account, or holding his ministers to account, by or for anything at all.

Key’s surplus excuses

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:23 am, April 14th, 2015 - 69 comments

Apparently this budget surplus that the Nats have been going on about for the last 6 years is an “artificial” target that is “like trying to land a 747 on a pin head”.

Clinton running for president

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:04 am, April 13th, 2015 - 38 comments

As expected, Hillary Clinton has announced her candidacy in next year’s presidential election.

UK Labour to crack down on tax cheats

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:34 am, April 12th, 2015 - 21 comments

UK Labour have promised “all-out war on tax avoidance and evasion”. NZ Labour should follow suit.

NZ emissions disaster in The Herald!

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 3:21 pm, April 11th, 2015 - 112 comments

Well knock me over with a feather. The disaster that is NZ’s greenhouse gas emissions has broken out of the ghetto of Twitter and Parliament TV, and made it on the front page of the (digital) Herald.

O’Sullivan on Campbell, Weldon and Key

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:39 am, April 11th, 2015 - 140 comments

So it’s not just loonie leftie bloggers noting the political element to the attack on Campbell Live.

Campbell live and politicisation of media

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:47 am, April 10th, 2015 - 112 comments

The attack on Campbell Live appears to be political.

The education horse race

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:38 am, April 9th, 2015 - 15 comments

On the one hand the government are pushing for more and more NCEA passes to feed the league tables, and on the other they are acknowledging that those passes are no longer enough to suggest success at Tertiary level and tightening criteria to exclude students. Mixed messages, perverse incentives, a giant shambles.

Cutbacks for Children’s commissioner – do we care?

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 12:42 pm, April 8th, 2015 - 6 comments

The office of the Children’s Commissioner is cutting back work due to funding pressure. Not that you would know about it, from the almost complete lack of media coverage.

Governments protecting paedophiles

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:03 am, April 8th, 2015 - 22 comments

Last week National shut down Peters’ attempt to introduce a Bill on paedophile name suppression. Presumably this was out of petty spite at Peters’ Northland victory, but in the context of the Thatcher revelations this was surely an issue that would have been worth debating.