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David Farrar (95)
dpf (194)

Sunday reading: Life in sub-prime America

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 1:29 pm, July 26th, 2009 - 7 comments

Exiled Online, a US site, has excellent coverage of the recession and the sub-prime crisis from a ground-level view. Yasha Levine moved to Victorville an ‘exurb’ of LA (100 miles from LA centre) to experience the crisis first-hand. His reports are a must read – well written, well researched, hard hitting (hope you’re not too […]

New union blog

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:03 pm, July 22nd, 2009 - 3 comments

Public Sector Eye. A new blog from the PSA written by the union’s two national secretaries, Brenda Pilott and Richard Wagstaff. Finsec’s been running the gossip for a few years now, but this will be the first blog written by union national secretaries on issues affecting their members. Given current events it should be interesting […]

Edwards and Latta

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 2:18 pm, July 19th, 2009 - 14 comments

There’s an interesting discussion that’s broken out on brianedwardsmedia between Brian Edwards, who writes a fairly excoriating piece on Nigel Latta’s Politically Incorrect Parenting Show), and Latta who responds at length in the comments. The show’s title, which frames a recurrent theme, always did strike me as shameless populist exploitation that’s more about vacuous, dog-whistle marketing […]

Sunday weirdness

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 1:38 pm, July 12th, 2009 - 57 comments

Cameron Slater has had a big media day today with the Herald on Sunday pointing out his role in the cyber-bullying of some young woman called Pearl Going and the Sunday Star Times doing a feature on the odd fellow. I don’t generally read Slater’s blog so I’d missed the business with Going but a […]

Another new left blog

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 1:13 pm, July 11th, 2009 - 12 comments

Elsewoman. We’ve been remiss in not getting this on the blogroll earlier. Anne’s been giving us hassles. And rightly so, her blog is good reading. Anne describes herself as “Editor, writer, grumpy second wave feminist”, a bit of a different perspective from the other feminst blogs, which are by and large third wave. Like Mars […]

New left blog

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:50 pm, July 11th, 2009 - Comments Off on New left blog

Mars 2 Earth is one of the vanishingly few blogs written from a Maori perspective (with quite a bit of environmentalism thrown in). Muscular discourse and some sharp writing. Thankfully, it’s not just identity politics either, some good materialist values coming through too. While Maori Party successes are celebrated, he doesn’t go that step further that […]

No use playing Canute

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 1:57 pm, July 8th, 2009 - 15 comments

I noted with obvious interest on Stuff today that News Ltd CEO John Hartigan is having a go at bloggers and blogs. “In return for their free content, we pretty much get what we’ve paid for – something of such limited intellectual value as to be barely discernible from massive ignorance,”. Blogs often give a […]

Reminder

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 5:00 pm, July 6th, 2009 - 12 comments

1) Go read Editing the Herald. 2) Bookmark it. 3) Read it every day. It’s the best thing on the Internet.

Labour lolz

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:48 pm, July 3rd, 2009 - 36 comments

I reckon Red Alert, the Labour MPs’ blog, has been a huge success. It’s great to see MPs unscripted and it’s good for them to get the instant public reaction in the comments. It’s also a bit of a political risk. When you’re allowing instant, uncensored public reaction you can’t hide from criticism and you […]

100,000th comment

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:20 pm, July 2nd, 2009 - 31 comments

Our first comment was on our second day, August 17th 2007 “Where will it lead? ” by trythisone on our third post… who never showed up again. Number 100 was on September 15th, 31 days in, John laughing at Jacqui Dean for wanting to ban dihydrogen monoxide – also known as water. Our thousandth came […]

Definitely not the sewer

Written By: lprent - Date published: 5:16 pm, July 1st, 2009 - 54 comments

This post by Scott Yorke over at Imperator Fish amused me. It is such an apt description of the differences between the two major political partisan blogs in New Zealand. I like to visit The Standard now and then. There’s an occasional gem to be found there, although an angry hectoring tone largely dominates. The main […]

Change of tune

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:15 pm, June 25th, 2009 - 30 comments

A couple of weeks ago, David Farrar was all for investigating MPs’ expenses here. He was covering the UK scandal in depth. He tired to make a mountain out of a molehill when the Greens released their expenses. Now his tune has suddenly changed. Now he’s going to great lengths to explain the system isn’t […]

Headline fail

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 2:33 pm, June 23rd, 2009 - 39 comments

This is a classic. Media are reporting that National MP Nick Smith has had an assault complaint lodged against him by a Nelson man. Right on cue, Farrar puts up a quick post to downplay the whole thing. His choice of headline? “Sounds like a beatup” That’s one epic headline fail 🙂 [For what it’s […]

Roger Douglas on Key and English

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:54 am, June 21st, 2009 - 19 comments

Commenting on Key’s policy to force the Guardians of the Super Fund to invest 40% of funds in New Zealand, ACT’s Roger Douglas notices a pattern we’ve posted on here at The Standard before: “This only enforces the emerging trend we have seen between Mr Key and Mr English. Mr Key announces a stupid idea […]

Answers still needed from Key

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:12 pm, June 19th, 2009 - 20 comments

For some reason, Tracey Watkins’ blog is hidden away deep within the Stuff website, far from the other blogs. Which is a pity because it’s where she writes her best stuff. Like this: One part of me thinks it’s bleedingly obvious why John Key lost confidence in Worth so why get in a stew about […]

I wish to complain…

Written By: lprent - Date published: 10:42 pm, June 3rd, 2009 - 31 comments

It turns out that Phil Goff was aware of an allegation about Richard Worth weeks ago that may relate to the current investigation. Labour leader Phil Goff took an allegation of Richard Worth’s inappropriate behaviour towards a woman to Prime Minister John Key about a month ago, it emerged tonight. This was apparently not the […]

Barrel scraped

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:16 pm, June 3rd, 2009 - 41 comments

A dude told me a good political rule of thumb the other day. â€˜If Farrar won’t go near something, it’s pure political poison. Farrar can be low but he’s got good instincts for saving his brand. Look at the way he dropped Lee and his Mt Albert blogmobile’. So I had to laugh when I […]

Sprinters

Written By: John A - Date published: 12:43 pm, June 3rd, 2009 - 10 comments

David Farrar has a post on Kiwiblog listing the fastest risers to become Prime Minister. They are: John Key – 6 years David Lange – 7 years Jenny Shipley – 10 years Geoffrey Palmer – 10 years Bill Rowling – 12 years Mike Moore – 12 years Richard Seddon – 14 years So it might […]

Some stuff to read

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:00 pm, May 25th, 2009 - 10 comments

A few good posts today that are worth a look if you missed them: Chris Trotter reckons the police and the media are grossly underestimating the turnout at today’s hikoi. If we assume lower Queen Street to be roughly a kilometre in length and about 30 metres wide we get an area of 30,000 square […]

The Standard now largest NZ political blog?

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 2:47 pm, May 24th, 2009 - 110 comments

No, not because we’ve overtaken Kiwiblog in readership just yet (although ours is growing at a healthy 10% a month) but because I don’t think we can call Kiwiblog a political blog any more. 1) A blog is meant to be writers giving their views on issues; a web-based log of their thoughts, if you […]

Kiwibob-each-way on Melissa’s video

Written By: John A - Date published: 7:33 pm, May 14th, 2009 - 13 comments

Interesting comment on Melissa from Kiwiblog’s Farrar: There is also the issue of the video produced by her before the election, placed on You Tube. I haven’t covered that in detail yet because so far I can’t see anywhere what Melissa has done wrong – my stance will change if such details emerge. Not exactly […]

“An indecent assault on numeracy”

Written By: all_your_base - Date published: 3:05 pm, May 14th, 2009 - Comments Off on “An indecent assault on numeracy”

Over at Public Address Keith Ng has a great post up on Labour and National’s tax regimes. Pretty graphs, accessible analysis and a DPF slap-down – what more could you ask for?

Calling it a day

Written By: Tane - Date published: 9:30 am, May 12th, 2009 - 48 comments

When I first started writing for The Standard way back in August 2007 I never envisaged it would become what it is today, nor that it would take up anywhere near as much of my time as it does. A year and half later, I’ve decided I want my life back. Contrary to the conspiracy […]

New Left blog

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:30 am, May 8th, 2009 - 19 comments

Red Alert, a blog by Labour MPs. A good idea – the blog format allows for a lot more freedom than the press release, and will hopefully them a chance to express their own personal views rather than just the official line of the party. It’ll be interesting to see how it works out. So […]

New Kiwi blog

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:42 pm, May 6th, 2009 - 5 comments

Zealgirl, a blog from a Zeal flight attendant involved in the current industrial dispute at Air New Zealand. [Hat tip: The Hand Mirror]

Herald cracks down on free speech

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:04 pm, May 6th, 2009 - 41 comments

Sick of the Herald? Try Editing the Herald instead. With intelligence and wit, James lays out the daily journalistic disgraces of our beloved Granny and makes you laugh. Granny doesn’t like it either. Can’t have people mocking you and pointing out your flaws on the internet! So they threatened him with legal action for using […]

New Left blog

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:00 pm, April 27th, 2009 - Comments Off on New Left blog

Life and Politics, a centre-left blog by “post-grad politics student, coms freelancer and a former press secretary” Jake Quinn.

David Farrar on referenda and consultation

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 10:45 am, April 27th, 2009 - 85 comments

rOb comments on David Farrar’s sudden conversion to not needing a referendum on the Auckland super-city, when DPF’s previous history is to always favour consultation and referenda. It raises questions about the rapid changes in DPF’s beliefs post-election. DPF is the worst kind of hypocrite. In the past he has pontificated extensively on referenda and […]

dick-o-meter

Written By: lprent - Date published: 12:00 pm, April 12th, 2009 - 16 comments

Russel Brown at Media7 doing a light-hearted take on how pathetic Paul Henry has been over time. You really have to ask if this Henry has left early adolescence yet after watching this video. But he does have his supporters with similar attitudes. hat-tip: Brian Edwards who has started a blog. It is a bit […]