Do the young really lack concentration?
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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…
Andrea Vance on Andrew Little’s “dream run”
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Date published: 9:32 am, March 1st, 2015 - 20 comments
Andrea Vance on the Labour leader’s first 100 days in office.
Spock was a socialist
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Date published: 9:01 am, March 1st, 2015 - 23 comments
If you analyse the many things said by Spock you would come to the conclusion that he was a strong progressive.
Sand sculpture competition at Whatipu
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Date published: 7:37 am, March 1st, 2015 - 2 comments
If you are looking for something to do today there is a sand sculpture competition with an environmental theme happening at Whatipu.
Open mike 01/03/2015
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Date published: 7:00 am, March 1st, 2015 - 278 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Nats laundering donations (as ever)
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Date published: 10:09 am, February 28th, 2015 - 28 comments
National have found new ways to launder their donations. Makes you wonder what they’re hiding.
Open mike 28/02/2015
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Date published: 7:15 am, February 28th, 2015 - 200 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Weekend social 27/02/2015
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Date published: 2:21 pm, February 27th, 2015 - 35 comments
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no aggro, why can’t we all just get along?
Winston: We Will Fight Them on The Beaches of Northland!
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Date published: 1:29 pm, February 27th, 2015 - 376 comments
NZ First leader Winston Peters is to stand in the Northland by-election. A three way race between NZ First, Labour and National will make for an interesting campaign and factors outside of National’s control may determine the result.
Labour’s new president
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Date published: 11:22 am, February 27th, 2015 - 17 comments
Congratulations to Nigel Haworth who has been elected President of the Labour Party and commiserations to Rob Gallagher.
Politician salary rises and the minimum wage increase
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Date published: 7:30 am, February 27th, 2015 - 106 comments
John Key has yet again asked the Remuneration Authority to limit the increase in MPs pay. And yet again they have said that the law required them to make the decision they did. So MPs get a hefty raise at the same time that the minimum wage is raised slightly. And the media report Key’s comments sympathetically. He is the Prime Minister. If anyone can change the law he is the person best placed.
Public support for the Iraq deployment (In which the insightful and knowledgable Mike Hosking springs to the defence of the embattled PM!)
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Date published: 7:11 am, February 27th, 2015 - 89 comments
Despite the best efforts of Mike Hosking, the poll numbers tell us that Kiwis have lost their historical appetite for this kind of misadventure.
Open mike 27/02/2015
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Date published: 6:45 am, February 27th, 2015 - 221 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
John Key channels Clarke and Dawe
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Date published: 7:16 pm, February 26th, 2015 - 27 comments
David Parker recaps Key’s bluster on his Donghua Liu dinner, and it’s pure comedy.
NRT: John Key on MP’s pay rises
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Date published: 3:26 pm, February 26th, 2015 - 36 comments
John Key has said today that he has urged the Remuneration Authority not to give MPs a salary increase. Get that feeling of deja vu? Idiot Savant at No Right Turn explains why.
Andrew Little; leadership, loyalty and lasting the distance.
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Date published: 1:19 pm, February 26th, 2015 - 64 comments
Its 100 days since the NZ Labour Party elected Andrew Little as its leader. What an inspired decision that has turned out to be! Little has galvanised the party, united the caucus and looks set to be the next PM. How has he turned Labour around?
Obama vetos Keystone pipeline
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Date published: 10:42 am, February 26th, 2015 - 8 comments
Too little, too late, but a victory the environment (and for sanity) none the less.
All the best Helen Kelly
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Date published: 10:26 am, February 26th, 2015 - 49 comments
“The head of the Council of Trade Unions has confirmed she has lung cancer.”
Get some guts
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Date published: 8:11 am, February 26th, 2015 - 114 comments
After the formal speeches on the Iraq deployment John Key set off on an extraordinary spittle-flecked rant against Labour. His “get some guts line” is going to haunt him for the next 3 years.
Petition – Not In My Name
Written By:
Date published: 7:11 am, February 26th, 2015 - 5 comments
A petition to oppose sending troops to Iraq has gained over 9,000 signatures in its first 24 hours. You can sign the petition here.
Open mike 26/02/2015
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Date published: 6:54 am, February 26th, 2015 - 268 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Carmel stood down for possible conflict of interest
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Date published: 6:48 pm, February 25th, 2015 - 231 comments
Carmel Sepuloni’s mother has had charges of benefit fraud being laid against her. Andrew Little has done the sensible thing and stood down her as its social development spokesperson. While I’m sure that we will still get the dribbling trolls, this is how potential conflicts of interest should be handled. Updated.
The Continuing Fight for Justice at Pike River
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Date published: 4:16 pm, February 25th, 2015 - 7 comments
Yesterday the families lost only a small bit of the battle for justice at Pike in an application to get some of the documentation on the Peter Whittall decision. It is clear from the decision that the process of filing itself caused MBIE to agree to release a number of the key documents.
Polity: Excluded middle
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Date published: 2:59 pm, February 25th, 2015 - 24 comments
National counterattack line on Iraq is now out and about, courtesy of National’s tester and parrot of lines – National pollster David Farrar at Kiwiblog. It consists of two contradictory lines about Labour. Also neither line is true. But they are just there for the ‘journalists’ to mindlessly repeat in the evening news.
National’s electoral returns and the Donghua Liu donation
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Date published: 11:22 am, February 25th, 2015 - 41 comments
The Electoral Commission has now released individual returns of donations and electoral expenses. And the Donghua Liu donation appears in Jamie-Lee Ross’s return. But the vast majority of electorate campaigns recorded head office donations and the overwhelming impression is that cabinet club donations are collected centrally and then distributed. So what happened with the Liu donation?
Three speeches on going to war
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Date published: 8:42 am, February 25th, 2015 - 109 comments
The first three speeches from yesterdays session in Parliament on sending troops to Iraq – John Key, Andrew Little, Russel Norman. Little’s speech is cogent, Norman’s is brilliant.
NZ Banks are very worried…
Written By:
Date published: 5:59 am, February 25th, 2015 - 76 comments
New Zealand banks (which are really Australian banks) are REALLY worried for us (oh, and for themselves).
Open mike 25/02/2015
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Date published: 5:55 am, February 25th, 2015 - 161 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Key’s Plazatoro guts
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Date published: 7:30 pm, February 24th, 2015 - 81 comments
John Key’s frothing exhortation to Andrew Little in Parliament to “get some guts” reminds one of opera’s famous Duke of Plazatoro “who led his regiment from behind, he found it less exciting.” Key’s not going to Iraq – our soldiers are the ones in danger.
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