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Parata replaces Collins and Adams as National’s weakest link

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:20 am, March 20th, 2014 - 57 comments

This week Hekia Parata has achieved what I thought was impossible. She has shown even worse judgment than Judith Collins and is threatening to replace Collins as National’s minister who is most in trouble. Hekia’s days as a Minister must be numbered …

Filibustering

Written By: geoff - Date published: 2:51 pm, March 9th, 2014 - 14 comments

On the odd occasion when the media has picked up on the magnitude of a big issue, eg GCSB, Key was under the spotlight and he was sweating…

Colin Craig wants help with his legal costs …

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:47 am, March 7th, 2014 - 112 comments

Not to be outdone by the Greens Colin Craig is now seeking donations to help him defend the allegation that he thinks a woman’s place is in the kitchen …

Tricky Patrick Gower in NZHouse of Cards

Written By: karol - Date published: 11:43 am, March 6th, 2014 - 133 comments

In need of public service media. TV3 News is a neoliberal propaganda vehicle. I’ve stopped watching it. However, today Martyn Bradbury posted a transcription of last night’s highly distorted report by Patrick Gower, with a critical analysis of just how much the report misrepresents.

Colin Craig does not want to disclose his view on gays

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:51 am, March 4th, 2014 - 70 comments

Colin Craig has announced that he is off to Court to sue someone called Russell Norman who I think is the same person as Greens leader Russel Norman. And he is going to leave documents relating to his views of gays in the closet by only suing Norman for his comments about women. One wonders what he has to hide?

NZ independence? back to the future

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:50 am, March 4th, 2014 - 150 comments

NZ seems like a client state of both US imperialism, and the UK monarchy: a throwback to the first part of the 20th century. John Key was quick to support the US & EU lines on the Crimea; some low achieving, British royals are visiting NZ at taxpayers’ expense.

The surveillance state online

Written By: karol - Date published: 2:06 pm, February 25th, 2014 - 9 comments

The leaks by Edward Snowden show many ways state surveillance agencies can workaround the legal requirements placed on them. Selwyn Manning explained about the “Two Hop” surveillance of online targets. On Intercept Glenn Greenwald explains the information about the use of “online covert operations”. [Update Andrea Vance on NZ spy tactics]

Rock star – “No depression”

Written By: karol - Date published: 11:46 am, February 21st, 2014 - 104 comments

Popular songs can capture the heartbeat of communities. “Rock Star” economy”? Or “No Depression in New Zealand”? A song that links the NZ of Muldoon & John Key. “History Never Repeats”? Who has pulled up the ladder & who wants to replace ladders with something more accessible to all?

The GCSB can’t count

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:30 am, February 21st, 2014 - 31 comments

The GCSB has eroded public confidence in its performance by displaying a concerning inability to count beyond four …

Easy Vote or Voter Intimidation?

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:19 pm, February 17th, 2014 - 123 comments

Good to see Labour has stood up against National’s “harder-to-vote” revisions to the Electoral Amendment Bill, especially making voters now have to state their name to get a voting paper. The reason for this is to allow scrutineers to more easily challenge a voter’s credentials, and is similar to voter intimidation practices in conservative States in the US. Expect National Party scrutineers questioning more voter credentials in the 2014 election.

Dotcom snoopers: The “dirty, disgusting, despicable game”

Written By: karol - Date published: 4:19 pm, February 14th, 2014 - 73 comments

So, the PM is hinting that his tips about Winston Peters visiting Kim Dotcom 3 times, came from Cameron Slater. But then, who was Slater’s informant? Key admits to on-going contact with Slater. [Update: transcript of John Key stand up vid, Stuff – Update 2: transcript edited; 3 News]

NRT: Ticket clipping

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:53 pm, February 13th, 2014 - 29 comments

National’s charter schools are predicated on the idea that the public education system is doing a bad job. They’re (over-)funded to do things differently. So its more than a little odd that He Puna Marama Trust’s charter school is simply getting local state schools to do all their teaching for them. They just clip the ticket converting taxpayers money to private profit. Ridiculous corrupt NAct policy.

Smirks & inversions

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:54 am, February 13th, 2014 - 42 comments

The Salvation Army’s latest State of the Nation Report is damning on child poverty & unaffordable housing. The government is misrepresenting the conclusions, reversing the main focus on failings, and focusing on the positives: the spin is repeated in an NZ Herald editorial.

Mindless questions

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:50 am, February 13th, 2014 - 304 comments

The question I’d like the media to ask is “Where did John Key get his information that Winston visited DotCom three times?” Most likely source it seems to me is the GCSB. I think Winston may have a point about his right to privacy.

NRT: National hates transparency

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:54 am, February 12th, 2014 - 56 comments

Yesterday Labour tried to put forward a Parliamentary motion calling on the government to release the draft text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement before signing it, on the simple democratic grounds that the public deserved to know what agreements were being made in our name. National refused to. The upshot: National hates transparency. It also hates democracy.

5 Eyes’ cyberwarfare: Snowden

Written By: karol - Date published: 7:55 am, February 9th, 2014 - 60 comments

Leaked by Edward Snowden, a GCHQ slideshow for a secret spy conference. It outlines methods of cyber warfare and propaganda circulation. Mainly aimed at non-5 Eyes’ countries, the methods include infiltrating blogs, DOS attacks, propaganda via social media & manipulating journalists.

NZ Herald watch – history repeats

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:50 am, February 7th, 2014 - 146 comments

The NZ Herald has a long history of opposing Maori resistance and supporting colonisation. It has always been right wing with a strong commercial focus & MO. Yesterday it censored news of Waitangi Day protests. Today an editorial spins in slippery style, for the Govt’s failing PowerCo sales.

Media bias

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:41 am, January 31st, 2014 - 168 comments

Media bias has been a topic of discussion this week and such simple things as the choice of photos can be evidence of this. The Herald has been publishing very unflattering photos of David Cunliffe. You would think that with all of their resources they would have slightly more natural photos than the ones they are running …

Workers Denied Access to Information

Written By: Helen Kelly - Date published: 11:10 am, January 25th, 2014 - 29 comments

The NZ Logger magazine has published attack after attack on us since about August of last year. You have to read them to believe them. Industry players and Editorials suggesting we are the problem in forestry safety! One even suggested UNIONS were exploiting workers in the industry through our safety campaign. I contacted the Editor to ask for a right of reply. It was written with minor changes and expected to appear this month. Now they won’t run it…. Have a look at it yourself.

Polity: The truth about the gap between the rich and the rest

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:31 pm, January 24th, 2014 - 61 comments

John Key was careful in his speech. He and his government have helped themselves and their affluent mates while screwing everyone else. It is pretty clear who has been getting the benefits – since 2010 just the households with at least a hundred thousand dollars income. The bigger the household income, the more National helps. John Key – a liar with numbers.

A matter of “confidence”

Written By: karol - Date published: 11:43 am, January 21st, 2014 - 41 comments

Some say the economy often responds positively to “confidence”, while lack of it can result in some financial nose dives. But whose confidence is being highlighted in reports of NZ’ “rock star” economy? Not that of workers, beneficiaries – the precariat, say Labour, Greens.

A big gay rainbow the true cause of the UK’s unusual weather

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:04 am, January 21st, 2014 - 20 comments

It is quite an achievement for a sitting MP to be considered to be too nutty for the UKIP. But David Silvester has achieved this dubious distinction by claiming that adverse weather events in the United Kingdom are the result of legalising same sex marriage …

Sick

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:41 pm, January 18th, 2014 - 48 comments

Caption contest

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:31 am, January 3rd, 2014 - 110 comments

Celebrity golf! Which one will get voted off the island first!? Meanwhile the world burns, the poor struggle, and the wealth gap continues to be a blight on our country.

Polity: Regional income stats

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:00 pm, December 30th, 2013 - 14 comments

The Herald says the regions have rising incomes, but caution against reading anything into it. DPF reads everything into it anyway. But when people with jobs stay in the regions and those without jobs go to where some jobs are – average incomes rise in the provinces. It is what you expect to see when there is a jobless ‘recovery’ like National is paying for with debt.

Poverty denial

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:58 am, December 30th, 2013 - 230 comments

Here & in the UK: food poverty, increases in queues to foodbanks, in diseases of poverty, a crisis in affordable housing, & struggles & insecurites of the working poor. But poverty denialists blame the poor, smear beneficiaries, & talk of (always-around-the-corner) “brighter futures”.

Polity: Who believes in climate change?

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:22 pm, December 29th, 2013 - 84 comments

Cool-yet-depressing finding on why some people change their mind on climate change from one day to the next.

It can be summarised by saying Republicans in the US are scientific morons, and many Americans decide based on the previous days weathers.

Shop til we all drop

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:46 am, December 27th, 2013 - 90 comments

The cult of the super rich, cheer led by the uncritical echo chamber in the MSM. Those struggling in poverty receive a few crumbs of charity, promoting superficial “good will” by those indulging in the orgy of consumerist excess. Underlying causes & solutions are ignored.

First the Hone bash, then the royals

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:37 am, December 20th, 2013 - 116 comments

It’s looking like Team John Key is trying every PR spin trick in the book to gain an advantage for the election next year. Does he have anything to offer Kiwis other than bash, spin and photos ops? And McGehan Close? The underclass?

NZ Herald: Disgrace to democracy

Written By: karol - Date published: 11:03 am, December 18th, 2013 - 246 comments

The right wing NZ Herald editors, have misused their position in the news mediascape to produce some shameless, highly partisan and manipulative propaganda. They do not have the interest of all Aucklanders at heart. More considered analysis needed. Let’s wait for tomorrow’s public meeting.

When the wolf cries boy

Written By: lprent - Date published: 7:10 pm, December 6th, 2013 - 128 comments

Matthew Blomfield asked for a opportunity to refute some of the bull that has been stated about him and his defamation case against Cameron Slater. I’ve put it on the site because it seems fair that bloggers help fix the unfair damage that nutty bloggers like Cameron Slater can do to private individuals. Regardless of the outcome of this long-running court case, it is quite clear that Cameron Slater has used his blog to pursue someone’s vendetta far outside the realms of “journalism”.