blogs
Categories under blogs
- David Farrar (97)
- dpf (194)
My Little Ponytail
Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, April 22nd, 2015 - 407 comments
A really strange story has appeared on The Daily Blog. It claims to be a first person account of PM John Key regularly physically harrassing a staff member in his local cafe over the summer. While it may be much ado about nothing, the Prime Minister really should tell NZ his side of the story. Or resign if it’s true.
Update: It’s true. Key’s office has confirmed the harassment.
Geddis spanks Farrar
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, April 16th, 2015 - 30 comments
Andrew Geddis at Pundit on National’s spin on Bridges. Includes a pretty sticky moment for Nat spinster David Farrar. You will need to disinfect your brain.
Cameron Slater has a idiot for a lawyer
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, April 14th, 2015 - 42 comments
Instead of taking the shot granted by the High Court of simply making an appeal, some incompetent legal dunderhead made the idiotic move of not filing. Then they took the much harder step of belatedly attempting to get the Court of Appeal to allow them to appeal. Complete stupidity. But this is a lawyer with Cameron Slater for a client..
Blogger on breaching name suppression charges gets name suppression
Written By: - Date published: 11:54 am, April 10th, 2015 - 67 comments
A blogger charged with breaching suppression orders protecting the names of others has obtained interim name suppression. This is not a joke …
900,000 comments
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, March 18th, 2015 - 28 comments
Yesterday morning we went though 900k comments. We have done another 100k comments in 188 days since September 10th. We are slightly behind our long predicted exponential growth to a million comments in August.
Dim-Post on *that* $168k cake story
Written By: - Date published: 12:07 pm, March 3rd, 2015 - 80 comments
Danyl at the Dim-Post has looked more closely at the decision to award a worker $168k over a cake and a Facebook post – and what it tells us about National’s employment law reforms.
Do the young really lack concentration?
Written By: - Date published: 1:23 pm, March 1st, 2015 - 85 comments
Now that I can no longer call myself young, the old adage that younger people simply lack concentration does appear to me to be correct. I look to the numbers on The Standard to see if there is a correlation and if I can argue a causation based on age. Are the younger readers without concentration, or are they just busy…
New blog – Edge Times
Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, February 22nd, 2015 - 45 comments
Karol, ex of The Standard (and sorely missed), has started a new blog covering a mix of politics and popular culture. Please head on over and visit!
Odgers in s**t
Written By: - Date published: 3:45 pm, January 22nd, 2015 - 30 comments
That’s as in spat. Characteristic. Richard Smith of Naked Capitalism questioned her Samoan fiduciary company fronting for a company delisted from GXG Markets, a small European exchange. It’s an interesting story, and Smith promises more to come from GXG about New Zealand if not Odgers.
The prince and the pea
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 pm, January 21st, 2015 - 80 comments
I have pointed out before that Bomber Bradbury is wee bit unsuited to the two way dialogue of the blogs. A fragile prima donna who doesn’t like to be contradicted by the people he gallantly slags off in his routine piques of bitchy ranting. Updated with Bomber proving the point as his manufactured myths fall apart.
Where is Cameron Slater?
Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, January 21st, 2015 - 142 comments
Yesterday I got contacted about Cameron Slater’s current address. Apparently the arsehole of the kiwi blogosphere hasn’t been paying his court ordered judgements against him that have been incurred in recent years. The person who contacted me wanted to serve a notice to bankrupt him.
A discussion on the media
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, January 18th, 2015 - 24 comments
The team at Scoop are running a series called “The State of the NZ News Media – A Public Conversation”.
TV3, Cameron Brewer and more of the same
Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, January 17th, 2015 - 39 comments
TV3 recently interviewed Cameron Brewer to provide adverse commentary on a story about Labour seeded by David Farrar and Cameron Slater. And they did not even mention Brewer’s links to the National Party.
Free Raif Badawi
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, January 17th, 2015 - 7 comments
Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi has been sentenced to 1000 lashes. The international outrage is growing.
Who texts the PM?
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, January 16th, 2015 - 87 comments
The latest excuse for John Key deleting his texts wholesale is wafer-thin.
The difference between the left and the right
Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, January 10th, 2015 - 250 comments
The recent handling of Charlie Hebdo by the Standard and by Kiwiblog provides a startling contrast. And neatly underlies the reality that the left wing blogs are in no way just the same as the right wing blogs despite what John Key may say.
The meaning of dirty politics
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, January 7th, 2015 - 171 comments
One of the strategies of the right is to take any complaint levelled against them and reduce it down until it’s meaningless. Now they’re doing it to Dirty Politics.
The Failed Estate: Body of the Host
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, January 2nd, 2015 - 11 comments
The failed estate is a blogsite run by veteran Australian Journalist Jim Parker. He writes occasional but perceptive posts primarily on media issues. This current post, reprinted with permission, provides a damning critique of main stream media coverage of the Sydney Siege.
Bill Gates on Piketty and inequality
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, December 26th, 2014 - 64 comments
Thomas Piketty in his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century came to the strong conclusion that capitalism left by itself will increase inequality and cause increased risk of social, economic and democratic upheaval. He has an unlikely supporter, albeit critical, in Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world.
Rushing in to Freed?
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, December 13th, 2014 - 28 comments
Herald journo John Drinnan seems all excited about Freed. That’s the dirty politics model that you’re celebrating John. You really want journalists to become pawns to paid attack politics? WTF?
Poor (and rather pathetic) Bomber
Written By: - Date published: 9:52 pm, December 8th, 2014 - 109 comments
Martyn Bradbury is still ‘leading’ the left from the behind. My focus on this site is how to reduce all the costs. One of those costs over the last year has been complaints about us from inside the NZLP. That is why I decided last month to drop my membership. Bomber snarkily whining up his ego looks like another wasteful cost.
NZ Media and blogs vs blogs
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, December 6th, 2014 - 42 comments
Snippets from a detailed and interesting report on the ownership of NZ media, media trends and issues, and the role of blogs post dirty politics. One major quibble – not all blogs are created equal, no more than all TV is game shows, than all radio is talkback, or than all websites are porn.
National’s campaign of false equivalences
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, December 4th, 2014 - 102 comments
John Key has been advertising us in parliament. But he has a problem distinguishing how his right puppet blogs operate compared to the volunteer blogs of the left. It says more about how John Key thinks than it does about us. Key prefers sites that recruit prostitutes in order to blackmail reporters.
Blowing smoke
Written By: - Date published: 3:31 pm, December 2nd, 2014 - 31 comments
Is David Farrar being paid to attack plain packaging? His latest post quotes research described by the Melbourne Age as “pushed by the smoking lobby.” He also misrepresents New Zealand researchers’ views. The Age says “a co-ordinated assault just ahead of the review of plain packaging laws is emerging.” Looks to me like Farrar has joined it.
Local Bodies: John the Don and the Family
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, December 1st, 2014 - 19 comments
bsprout on the Local Bodies blog departs from his more usual style and makes some parallels with popular culture. One of John Key’s many hats?
Scott Campbell: Liar on The Nation
Written By: - Date published: 11:26 pm, November 30th, 2014 - 93 comments
Scott Campbell made a statement on The Nation this weekend about this site being used to attack him as a journalist in 2007/8. After having a good look around for evidence on site, I have concluded that Scott Campbell simply lied. Quite why this comms specialist for the right made this lie I don’t know. But I’m quite pissed off about it.
Two guilty approaches after Dirty Politics
Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, November 28th, 2014 - 43 comments
There are two approaches to being a star of dirty politics and not wanting to answer questions about it. Both were displayed on Campbell Live last night by Jason Ede and Cameron Slater. And Andrea Vance has details on taxpayers paying for Slaters legal bills.
Key’s repeated reflexive lies (and giving back double)
Written By: - Date published: 2:15 am, November 27th, 2014 - 162 comments
It is now clear that Key lies repeatedly and reflexively. It is all catching up with him. From the confusion of emails and texts that emerged last night it also looks like the Collins / Slater faction is back, and giving back double.
Dirty political money – why isn’t it illegal?
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 pm, November 26th, 2014 - 39 comments
The Greens have released information that shows National having 77% of their donations in the last 3 years ($3.375 million) funnelled to them in non-public quite large donations. What are they providing for that? Well amongst other things it pays for sleazeballs like Jason Ede. But what legislation?
A Breakdown.
Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, November 26th, 2014 - 25 comments
There’s a lot of smash flying around concerning the SIS, the PM’s office, OIA requests, Judith Collin’s and what not. So here’s a simple, stripped back, breakdown
CommentsOpinions
FeedsPartyGovtMedia
No feed items found.
No feed items found.
No feed items found.
- In the Bible, angels can be deadly. So why do we place them at the top of our Christmas trees?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Associate Professor, New Testament & Director of the Wesley Centre, University of Divinity Shutterstock Those beautiful white and gold angels you see on Christmas trees were originally monsters. At least, that is the claim made by scholar Esther ...1 week ago - Almost 1 million Australians are LGBTQIA+ – and for the first time, there’s a new national healt...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Power, Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University Lomb/Shutterstock New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this week shows one in 20 (4.5%) Australians over 16 are ...1 week ago
- Heatwaves and bushfires can be a dangerous mix for the electricity grid. Here’s how to shore up yo...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shukla Poddar, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW Sydney The Australian summer has started to unleash its power. On Monday, the Victorian town of Walpeup reached 47.1°C, and towns in Queensland, western New South Wales, South Australia ...1 week ago
- Climate anger can lead to action – or curdle into despair. We found out why
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Stanley, Research Fellow in Social Psychology, UNSW Sydney Jacob Lund/Shutterstock Strong emotional responses to environmental problems are remarkably common. We know people are angry about climate change – but how many? Our new research surveyed 5,000 Australians and found ...1 week ago
- ‘You can’t hear a smile’: how video visits help dads in prison stay connected with their kids
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elisabeth Duursma, Research Theme Fellow Education and Work, Western Sydney University Julia M Cameron/ Pexels , CC BY Many Australians know December 21 as “Gravy Day”. This is a reference to Paul Kelly’s song and new film How to Make Gravy, ...1 week ago
- Personalising a luxury gift with a name or initial? Research suggests a hidden social cost
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne-maree O’Rourke, Lecturer in Marketing, The University of Queensland Andrei Antipov/Shutterstock You might think spending $5,000 on a handbag or wallet would be prestigious and exclusive enough. What about taking things one step further – and personalising it with your own ...1 week ago
- Yuletide cheer – but not too much: cinema’s best ‘Christmas adjacent’ films (yes, including ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia IMDB Christmas films appear in many guises. There is the witty (Christmas in Connecticut, Scrooged). The comedic (It Happened on 5th Avenue, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation). The wonderfully sentimental ...1 week ago
- A book for every year of your life: Part two, ages 31 to the grave
From Mansfield Park to Jurassic Park, some reading inspiration for every age. A book for every year of your life: Part one, ages 0-30 Here is the second instalment of a book for every year of your life. After 30, any sort of age recommendation for works of great literature ...1 week ago - Christopher Luxon should have accepted Waitangi challenge – trust chair
"As heated as it may get, we have to keep up those conversations and not stop talking with each other," Pita Tipene told Morning Report. ...1 week ago - Chistopher Luxon should have accepted Waitangi challenge – trust chair
"As heated as it may get, we have to keep up those conversations and not stop talking with each other," Pita Tipene told Morning Report. ...1 week ago
- NZ tight-lipped over membership of space network
Analysis - Operation Olympic Defender aims to protect space from the likes of exploding satellites, but NZ is keeping quiet about its involvement. ...1 week ago
- Fast-tracked hotel and hostel in Mount Eden surprise residents
Plans for a hotel and student hostel at Auckland's Eden Park stadium have been revealed in the release of fast-track application documents. ...1 week ago
- The Bulletin wrapped, 2024
The Bulletin editor Stewart Sowman-Lund reflects on the year – what you were reading and what you engaged with the most – and looks ahead to 2025. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...1 week ago
- The year in news: Stories that dominated the headlines in 2024
Here's a snapshot of party politics in 2024. ...1 week ago
- The year in politics: Stories that dominated the headlines in 2024
The year saw nationwide protests, swathes of legislation repealed and introduced, crackdowns on crime and some stern words to local councils. ...1 week ago
- No budget for psychiatric beds despite being over capacity
Workers on the front line of NZ's mental health wards say surging demands are leading to people getting turned away or discharged early. ...1 week ago
- The lady on the beach: whānau’s shock at development in unsolved murder
A month after Joanna Sione-Lauaki’s body was found on a Northland beach, her whānau got a shock when police made an announcement about a crucial development.In a statement to the media and on social media, police released CCTV pictures of a man they believed was the last person to see ...1 week ago - The boozeless bubbly of Aotearoa, reviewed and ranked
‘Tis the season for festive fizz, but what if you’re not drinking? There’s plenty on offer beyond Grapetise these days – we delved in to bring you the best and worst. We’re smack bang in the middle of the most liquor-soaked period of the year, with more Christmas parties, boozy ...1 week ago
- How the gambling industry is using influencers to appeal to a new generation
From paid partnerships and podcasts to ‘party holes’, the TAB and its youth-focused subsidiary Betcha are making a concerted effort to attract young people to gambling. Shanti Mathias reports. A group of men are crowded around a golf green, waiting for a ball. When it’s successfully putted into the hole, ...1 week ago
- A lesson in playing chicken with Big Tech
Opinion: Big Tech is choking the life out of New Zealand journalism. The advertising monopoly run by platforms like Meta and Google starves local media of revenue, making it harder to pay journalists and sustain quality reporting. New Zealand’s Media and Communications Minister, Paul Goldsmith, is studying Australia’s new tougher approach ...1 week ago
- The biggest selling books of 2024
FICTION1 The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone by Gareth Ward & Louise Ward (Penguin Random House, $38)Wow! The biggest-selling novel of the year is a detective caper dreamed up by the very people who know best about bestsellers – bookstore owners. The Wards run Wardini’s, that wondrous book emporium in ...1 week ago
- Luxon’s reason for skipping Waitangi challenges the sniff test
Comment: The Prime Minister’s announcement that he won’t mark Waitangi Day in Waitangi itself next year would make sense in most other contexts – but not so much when he has admitted Māori-Crown relations have worsened under his leadership.Christopher Luxon has said in the past that he would like to ...1 week ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 20 December
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.Keep playing
Daily crossword, Friday 20 December 1 week ago- Coalition scraps plan to leave open government pact
The Government has backed away from a secret proposal to withdraw New Zealand from a global transparency initiative, with officials repeatedly pushing for the country to pull out.A leading civil society group has welcomed the decision, but says greater buy-in from ministers and officials is necessary if the initiative is ...1 week ago- Queen T’s threepeat of Tauihi final showdowns
Tania Tupu has a painful, puffed-up reminder of her Tokomanawa Queens’ shock semifinal victory in the Tauihi basketball league last weekend.The highly-successful Queens head coach is still hopping around on a swollen knee after trying to show her team the moves that drove her through two Olympics and 93 games ...1 week ago- Wheels off the bus: bikes on buses do us good
Opinion: As we enter the holiday period, there will inevitably be many more cars on the road, which usually leads to a spike in the road toll.More cars on the roads means more traffic, more crashes and more injuries, as well as more pollution and more greenhouse gas emissions.We should ...1 week ago- Daily crossword, Friday 20 December
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: 25px; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail{ margin: 0; margin-bottom: 0.25em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail img { height: auto; width: 100%; ...1 week ago- West and media are ‘erasing’ Palestinian history, say critics
Asia Pacific Report Palestinian history is “deliberately ignored” and is being effectively “erased” as part of Western news media narratives, while establishment forces work to shut down anyone speaking out against Israel’s slaughter in Gaza, academics have told a university conference of legal and Middle East experts. Article ...1 week ago- Government’s First Paris Agreement Report Fails To Address How It Plans To Hit Targets
The report fails to address how it plans to hit its emissions savings targets. ...1 week ago- Former Defence Minister Peeni Henare Calls Vanuatu Flight Woes ‘Embarrassing’
A Hercules plane carrying urban rescue staff to Vanuatu was stranded in New Caledonia after an engine fault. ...1 week ago- Vanuatu quake: Rescue teams continue Port Vila hunt for survivors
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific news editor There are conflicting reports of the official death toll from this week’s massive earthquake in Vanuatu as rescue teams continue to scour the rubble for survivors. On Tuesday, the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office reported 14 deaths. It said four people had been ...1 week ago- Hipkins’ letter to BlackRock boss over SolarZero liquidation goes unanswered
A letter sent by Opposition leader Chris Hipkins to BlackRock asking for assistance to ensure 160 terminated SolarZero staff are paid what they are owed has been met with silence.Hipkins sent a letter to David Giordano, BlackRock’s managing director of climate infrastructure, on December 4, one week after news broke ...1 week ago- International student numbers in Australia will be controlled by a new informal cap. Here’s how it...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Hurley, Associate Professor and Director, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University Paper Cat/ Shutterstock The federal government has found a new way to manage the number of international students in Australia. It has instructed immigration officials to prioritise student visa applications ...1 week ago- Government Legislation On Academic Freedom Sign Of New Hope For Universities
Legislation changes announced by the Government today signals that academic freedom can still be restored to university campuses. New Zealand universities have consistently shown they’re not fulfilling their obligations to uphold academic freedom; this ...1 week ago- National, Labour blame each other – but is the Reserve Bank responsible for GDP fall?
The last two quarterly figures for the economy are the worst since the late 2021 Covid-19 lockdowns. ...1 week ago- New Zealand Economy In Freefall While The Government’s Books Burn
...1 week ago- Survey Shows Government Lacks Mandate To Repeal Live Export Ban
“Sending live animals on boats into volatile conditions to destinations with poor animal welfare standards is not progressive, lucrative, or likely to stimulate the economy,” says SPCA Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Arnja Dale. ...1 week ago- Bill To Increase Penalties For Slavery Welcome, But Doesn’t Go Far Enough
World Vision New Zealand welcomes the introduction of a Private Members’ Bill to increase penalties for slavery offenses, but warns it does not go far enough to address weaknesses in New Zealand’s modern slavery and trafficking laws. ...1 week ago- Politics with Michelle Grattan: Chalmers says the budget’s better than it was; Taylor says it’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Appropriately, we finish our podcast for 2024 talking to Treasurer Jim Chalmers and his shadow, Angus Taylor because, as the saying goes, “it’s the economy, stupid!” This week’s mid-year budget update showed Australia’s economy ...1 week ago- Treaty Principles Bill A Threat To The Rights Of Children In Aotearoa
Teresa Tepania-Ashton, Director of Advocacy at UNICEF Aotearoa, says it is critical that New Zealanders who care about children participate in the submissions process and identify the risk to the rights of tamariki. ...1 week ago - Coalition scraps plan to leave open government pact
Recent Comments