Search Results

  1. Racist dog whistling

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 9:24 am, January 14th, 2018 -  64 comments
    Categories: Africa, australian politics, Donald Trump, International, us politics
    Tags: ,

    We may think that we now live in more enlightened times where the scourge of racism is finally being dealt to and is no longer considered acceptable but recent events in Australia and the United States suggests that this is not the case.

  2. The Standard’s most commented on posts of 2017

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 7:11 am, December 30th, 2017 -  27 comments
    Categories: the praiseworthy and the pitiful, The Standard
    Tags:

    The ten most commented on posts in the Standard for 2017.

  3. The joy of biking

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 10:52 am, December 28th, 2017 -  22 comments
    Categories: transport
    Tags: , ,

    As I prepare to fly out of NZ yet again for work, I’m contemplating how much my personal transport has changed over the years. These days I most ride a e-bike. Faster than a car for my commute because of the frigging Auckland traffic. Effective exercise without too much pain. And a lot of fun.

  4. Ain’t Gonna Play

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 8:00 am, December 26th, 2017 -  187 comments
    Categories: International, Media, the praiseworthy and the pitiful
    Tags: , ,

    New Zealand musician Lorde has announced that she will respect the boycott of Israel and not perform there.

  5. Broadcasting Standards Authority finds Mike Hosking’s election comments about the Māori Party inaccurate and misleading

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 6:15 am, December 20th, 2017 -  56 comments
    Categories: broadcasting, democracy under attack, democratic participation, maori party, Media, tv
    Tags:

    “Further, his comments the following evening were confusing and insufficient to correct the inaccurate information for viewers.”

  6. People of the Year

    Written By:  Matthew Whitehead -  Date published: 3:00 pm, December 7th, 2017 -  136 comments
    Categories: feminism, news
    Tags: , , , , ,

    Time has named participants of the #MeToo campaign its people of the year. So why hasn’t the movement taken hold in New Zealand the way it has in the United States?

  7. Flynn cuts a deal while Trump scrambles

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 8:07 am, December 4th, 2017 -  147 comments
    Categories: Abuse of power, corruption, Deep stuff, democracy under attack, Donald Trump, spin, us politics, you couldn't make this shit up
    Tags:

    Donald Trump’s response to news of the arrest of Michael Flynn suggests that charges closer to the office of the President may be close.

  8. Phil Quin: our media’s goto dogwhistling Aussie

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 8:41 am, November 29th, 2017 -  93 comments
    Categories: David Farrar, Media, Politics
    Tags: ,

    It always disappoints me in NZ is who our local media consider are ‘left’ or ‘labour’ commentators. They are usually strange and weird relics of left behind who frame their commentary in terms of long past history. Phil Quin, a grizzled veteran misogynist of the 1990s Thordon Bubble who thrives on chaos and ill informed dog whistles, is one of them. It isn’t like he knows much about NZ politics. Updated.

  9. Up the spout, round the bend and down the tubes.

    Written By:  Bill -  Date published: 11:43 am, November 28th, 2017 -  34 comments
    Categories: capitalism, Environment, global warming, Globalisation, International, Politics, science, sustainability, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, useless
    Tags: , , , , ,

    It’s no longer really working out (kicking the AGW can down the road), but we seem to be hooked into a peculiar form of madness even as everything appears to be coming apart at the seams. It’s beyond me…

  10. Once again: National lost the election

    Written By:  Matthew Whitehead -  Date published: 9:17 pm, November 26th, 2017 -  154 comments
    Categories: democracy under attack, election 2017, MMP, national, nick smith, nz first
    Tags: ,

    A rebuttal of Nick Smith’s claim to have “won the 2017 election, but lost the coalition negotiations.”

  11. Labour to seek consensus over child poverty

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 9:03 am, November 25th, 2017 -  111 comments
    Categories: benefits, bill english, Carmel Sepuloni, class war, Economy, employment, jacinda ardern, jobs, journalism, labour, national, paula bennett, Politics, same old national, welfare
    Tags:

    Jacinda Ardern intends to reach out to National to try and furnish a bi partisan approach to dealing with child poverty.  It is a good idea, but I don’t like her chances.

  12. Queensland State Election and Coal

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 10:22 am, November 22nd, 2017 -  9 comments
    Categories: australian politics, climate change, Environment, global warming, International, Mining, sustainability
    Tags: , ,

    The Queensland election is turning into one of those rare and weird ones in which a large-scale environment-versus-economy fight looms largest.

  13. Tampa, Ardern and positioning small countries

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 7:30 am, November 16th, 2017 -  41 comments
    Categories: australian politics, China, Globalisation, helen clark, International, jacinda ardern, labour, Politics, trade, us politics
    Tags:

    There are major similarities between Helen Clark’s decision to accept into New Zealand refugees from the Tampa boat and Jacinda Ardern’s pushing for New Zealand to accept refugees based on Manus Island.

  14. Minister puts sustainability, and government’s reputation at risk

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 7:45 am, November 15th, 2017 -  33 comments
    Categories: Environment, labour, national, sustainability
    Tags: , , ,

    A guest post by Christine Rose on Fishing Minister Stuart Nash’s strange decision to delay the implementation of video surveillance on fishing ships and the implications for endangered Maui’s dolphins.

  15. Measuring the honeymoon

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 8:27 am, November 14th, 2017 -  34 comments
    Categories: polls
    Tags:

    One of the things that I like about the Horizon poll is that it is unashamedly qualitative and highlights data beyond what is required for idiot talking heads needing a soundbite. Horizon breaks down some of the demographics to look at who is giving the government their honeymoon.

  16. The House’s Man

    Written By:  Matthew Whitehead -  Date published: 6:50 am, November 11th, 2017 -  60 comments
    Categories: accountability, labour, Parliament
    Tags: , ,

    How is Trevor Mallard doing as speaker? Early signs are good.

  17. Trust, Labour and the TPPA

    Written By:  weka -  Date published: 6:05 am, November 5th, 2017 -  96 comments
    Categories: Economy, International, labour, trade
    Tags: ,

    A look at Labour’s PR around the TPPA-11, and a campaign by Action Station to stop the signing.

  18. Jacinda Ardern, Donald Trump and political manners

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 2:42 pm, November 2nd, 2017 -  12 comments
    Categories: Donald Trump, International, jacinda ardern, Politics, us politics
    Tags:

    In terms of style and approach Jacinda Ardern is radically different to Donald Trump.

  19. The repeal of the Hobbit law

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 12:24 pm, October 29th, 2017 -  70 comments
    Categories: Abuse of power, jobs, john key, journalism, national, national/act government, Politics, same old national, spin, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, Unions, workers' rights
    Tags: , , , , , , ,

    Labour has indicated that as a priority it wishes to repeal the Hobbit law, a clumsy attempt in breach of International Law to prevent workers in the film industry from organising collectively and to divert attention from the fact that the National Government had been played by Warner Brothers.

  20. Better roads rather than fighting to maintain them against trucks.

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 9:13 am, October 25th, 2017 -  46 comments
    Categories: Economy, public transport, transport
    Tags: , , , , , , ,

    Truckers don’t own the roadways. We do. If Ken Shirley wants a stricter adherence to user pays, then he should start with his trucking members. In the meantime the best thing we can do for improving the roading network is to get large trucks off of the road – they damage it way too much.

  21. The mess that the new government inherits

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 11:47 am, October 23rd, 2017 -  51 comments
    Categories: accountability, climate change, Dirty Politics, Economy, economy, education, Environment, global warming, health, housing, labour, national, poverty, useless, water
    Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

    This post is too long to read. Its purpose is to serve as reference material, a “one stop” snapshot of where we are as a country. The mess that the new government inherits. The consequences of the nine long wasted years of National. The magnitude of the challenge ahead of us.

  22. Don Presland obituary

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 6:30 am, October 23rd, 2017 -  23 comments
    Categories: labour, Unions, wages, workers' rights
    Tags: , ,

    Long time Unionist and Labour supporter Don Presland died last week. Family friend Ad writes about Don’s decades of standing up for workers’ rights and in celebration of the life of a really good man.

  23. Today is a win-win with Winston

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 8:48 am, October 19th, 2017 -  103 comments
    Categories: accountability, act, election 2017, electoral systems, First Past the Post, greens, jacinda ardern, labour, MMP, national, nz first, political parties, Politics, same old national, united future, winston peters
    Tags:

    It appears that Winston is about to announce the decision of the NZ First party about their coalition partner today. For those who seem to think that coalitions should be formed with rapidity, they simply shouldn’t. That is the path to making stupid decisions, and I am yet to hear a single good reason to do it.

  24. A letter to my middle-class, well meaning, professional, liberal friends and family

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 10:24 am, October 18th, 2017 -  4 comments
    Categories: activism, benefits, class, class war, greens, Metiria Turei, welfare
    Tags: , ,

    A post about the responsibility to advocate for change in a visible way.

  25. Sean Plunket resigns from Broadcasting Standards Authority

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 9:02 am, October 14th, 2017 -  44 comments
    Categories: Abuse of power, broadcasting, Media, twitter
    Tags: , ,

    Anyone feeling for Sean Plunket?

  26. Anatomy of a plonker

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 6:39 am, October 12th, 2017 -  30 comments
    Categories: Abuse of power, broadcasting, Media, twitter, you couldn't make this shit up
    Tags: , ,

    “Anyone else feeling for Harvey Weinstein?” – Sean Plunket

  27. Guest post: Deconstructing yet another National has moral right to govern argument

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 9:15 am, October 11th, 2017 -  41 comments
    Categories: election 2017, greens, internet party, labour, mana, national, spin, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit up
    Tags:

    A guest post by Swordfish on the implausibility of the claims by Dr Claire Robinson’s odd claim that the 2017 election result was a win for the status quo.

  28. Arrival

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 11:28 am, October 9th, 2017 -  61 comments
    Categories: Deep stuff, film, greens, political alternatives, sustainability
    Tags: , ,

    Incognito writes about the need for a new narrative in politics and how the Green movement is providing one that takes us beyond neoliberalism and unfettered capitalism.

  29. Election night coverage

    Written By:  weka -  Date published: 1:18 pm, September 23rd, 2017 -  13 comments
    Categories: democratic participation, election 2017, journalism, Media, news, radio, The Standard, youtube
    Tags:

    Some places for lefties to follow the counting and take part in the talking.

  30. Two ticks red

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 7:33 am, September 22nd, 2017 -  25 comments
    Categories: bill english, greens, jacinda ardern, john key, labour, national, same old national, youtube
    Tags:

    Who I am going to vote for and why.