Search Results

  1. Anti-democratic tendencies

    Written By:  Bunji -  Date published: 6:45 pm, September 24th, 2013 -  16 comments
    Categories: accountability, democracy under attack, john key
    Tags:

    John Key: “I don’t think New Zealand should rush to become a republic. It may happen one day, but I can’t for the life of me see the benefits of it other than you get to spend a lot of money electing heads of state as opposed to the government appointing one.”

  2. Hooton – please apologise

    Written By:  karol -  Date published: 1:46 pm, September 23rd, 2013 -  220 comments
    Categories: accountability, business, david cunliffe, democracy under attack, labour, radio, spin
    Tags:

    Matthew Hooton accused David Cunliffe of lying about his involvement with the Boston Management Group when it was providing advice that led to the development of Fonterra.  A little research supports Cunliffe’s claims and not Hooton’s.

  3. Sunday Reading

    Written By:  Bunji -  Date published: 9:30 am, September 22nd, 2013 -  10 comments
    Categories: interweb
    Tags:

    My semi-regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the last fortnight. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere.  This week: happiness, income, Germany (election today!), and the US security services.  Not to mention why time-travellers can’t kill Hitler. (Bonus extra-large edition with more videos and pictures!)

  4. Clean and neat

    Written By:  Eddie -  Date published: 7:41 am, September 18th, 2013 -  87 comments
    Categories: david cunliffe, david parker, labour, leadership
    Tags:

    Paddy Gower’s gleeful predictions of ‘blood on the floor’ of caucus didn’t happen. Tracy Watkins’ unrealistic demand that Grant Robertson (whom she incorrectly thought would win the leadership race) be retained as deputy was never going to happen. What we saw was a neat, least moves action that puts the economy front and centre of Labour’s brand.

  5. The Gosman (hypocrisy) ruling and other policy changes

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 9:09 am, September 17th, 2013 -  134 comments
    Categories: admin, notices, The Standard
    Tags:

    This may be shades of getting over-Apple’d as they mercilessly flay people on iTunes with their gargantuan pile of boilerplate each time they change a line.

    However there are a couple of policy changes on this site that people should be aware of.

  6. The silver lining of the Australian Election

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 12:23 pm, September 14th, 2013 -  11 comments
    Categories: australian politics
    Tags: , , ,

    Cathy McgowanDespite an overall swing to the Liberal National coalition in the recent Australian election there is potentially one exceptional result where a Liberal front bencher with a 16,000 majority may lose to a community independent in a historically conservative area. No matter what happens this campaign will provide progressives with good learning on the use of social media and how to run a campaign in a conservative area.

  7. Housing: the options, the new left narrative?

    Written By:  karol -  Date published: 11:07 am, September 13th, 2013 -  75 comments
    Categories: capital gains, class war, david cunliffe, democratic participation, election 2014, greens, labour, local government, mana, Metiria Turei, sustainability, vision, workers' rights
    Tags:

    The response to Metiria Turei’s sttements about affordable housing on The Vote, raises questions about political narratives are told to the general electorate? The Greens, Mana and Cunliffe have stressed their “vision“.  How to tell it so it reaches the hearts of New Zealanders?

  8. Intervention. Now!

    Written By:  Bill -  Date published: 3:13 pm, September 3rd, 2013 -  24 comments
    Categories: aid, disaster
    Tags: , ,

    Widespread and ongoing poisoning of civilians demands decisive and immediate international action, so…

  9. NRT: The Herald supports oligarchy

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 4:09 pm, August 28th, 2013 -  27 comments
    Categories: democracy under attack, democratic participation, Media, newspapers, you couldn't make this shit up
    Tags: ,

    No Right Turn makes the point on what the NZ Herald considers a “democracy under attack” to be. Their track record indicates it only ever happens if they find it harder to get advertising revenue or some of their audience finds harder to make money off selling other people’s assets. Of course having people participating doesn’t appear to them to be a part of democracy.

  10. Smell the fear

    Written By:  karol -  Date published: 2:28 pm, August 27th, 2013 -  236 comments
    Categories: david cunliffe, Economy, grant robertson, greens, john key, labour, leadership, national, polls, russel norman, Shane Jones, slippery, spin
    Tags:

    John Key claims he doesn’t care who becomes the next parliamentary Labour leader, while trying to drive a wedge between candidates. As Cunliffe gains momentum, Key turns negative on Cunliffe & throws some stones in his glass house. Gordon Campbell puts things in perspective.

  11. Shane Jones the smoko room candidate

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 8:16 am, August 26th, 2013 -  146 comments
    Categories: labour, Shane Jones
    Tags:

    shane-jonesShane Jones has announced his candidacy for the Labour leadership and has promised to take his campaign to the smoko rooms of the country.

  12. Disgusting

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 9:40 am, August 22nd, 2013 -  110 comments
    Categories: national/act government, same old national
    Tags: ,

    Chris Finalyson’s contribution to the GCSB debate yesterday was a strong reminder that the job description for National MPs includes a requirement that they be rude and arrogant and a belief that they are somehow superior to the rest of us.Chris Finlayson

  13. If lawyers don’t understand the law…

    Written By:  Bunji -  Date published: 12:59 pm, August 21st, 2013 -  32 comments
    Categories: john banks, john key, law, Spying
    Tags: ,

    Then it’s a bad law. Who does John Key think is going to interpret the GCSB law other than lawyers from the Law Commission, the Human Rights Tribunal, the Privacy Commissioner etc?

  14. The innocent have nothing to fear?

    Written By:  Mike Smith -  Date published: 10:50 am, August 21st, 2013 -  18 comments
    Categories: newspapers, Spying, uk politics
    Tags: , , ,

    It’s not just journos who should watch out if the GCSB Bill goes through. David Miranda, partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, was detained by British police yesterday while in transit through London. All his electronic equipment was confiscated. After the nine hour limit was up this “terrorist” was released into Britain! All because his partner has been the journalist who wrote about Snowden’s revelations about internet surveillance by GCHQ, NSA, and GCSB.

  15. Cheap and nasty

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 8:49 am, August 17th, 2013 -  36 comments
    Categories: economy, housing, national, schools
    Tags: , , ,

    Having been burned by the cheapest tender and the leaky building fiasco, the Nats say that they have now worked out that the cheapest tender is not necessarily the best. (Brilliant eh?) If only it was true that they had really learned the lesson…

  16. John Key – GCSB fool (or liar)

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 7:28 am, August 16th, 2013 -  142 comments
    Categories: john key, law, Spying
    Tags: , , ,

    On Campbell Live, and on other occasions, John Key has claimed that critics of the GCSB spying bill were all wrong. The Human Rights Commission – wrong. The Law Society – wrong. The Privacy Commissioner – wrong. Dame Anne Salmond – wrong. Everyone else wrong – only he – John Key – and his secret advisors were right, and we the sheeple have nothing to fear.

    Now in a stunning embarrassment it is Key that has had to admit that he was wrong. Or a liar.

  17. Paula is abusing Child Abuse Prevention Orders

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 1:45 pm, August 14th, 2013 -  54 comments
    Categories: uncategorized
    Tags:

    Wanted Poster Paula Bennett largePaula Bennett has recently announced for the second time, although with a new name, the Government proposal for the introduction of Child Abuse Prevention Orders.  These could result in people who have been acquitted of serious criminal allegations nevertheless being under effective house arrest for an extended period.  How can a party that supposedly believes in the Rule of Law trash the Bill of Rights?

  18. Market not impressed with $30 Million payout

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 7:11 am, August 9th, 2013 -  89 comments
    Categories: economy, energy, john key, Privatisation
    Tags: , , , ,

    Yesterday John Key gave $30 Million of tax payer’s money to Rio Tinto in order to prop up its electricity deal with Meridian – and thus to prop up his privatisation ideology. Mighty River Power shares took a hit. Smart investors getting out?

  19. Have Winston’s rights of privacy been breached?

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 5:16 pm, August 7th, 2013 -  51 comments
    Categories: john key, winston peters
    Tags: ,

    winston_petersWinston Peters has claimed in Parliament that the Police wanted to seize his telephone records because someone with a NZ First tshirt was outside the venue of the infamous Teapot tape incident.  And Key’s office wanted to be kept in the loop.  If true this another worrying attack on our rights of privacy by the state.

  20. Hypocrisy in the House: GCSB Bill

    Written By:  karol -  Date published: 10:11 am, August 7th, 2013 -  46 comments
    Categories: accountability, capitalism, david cunliffe, democracy under attack, john banks, john key, labour, national, peter dunne, slippery, Spying, telecommunications, united future, winston peters
    Tags:

    The debates during last night’s filibuster if the GCSB amendment Bill exposed the hypocrisy of John Key, and hangers on Peter Dunne and John Banks: as seen in  the videos of the speeches by Goff, Cunliffe and Peters.

  21. The view from China

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 10:20 am, August 6th, 2013 -  103 comments
    Categories: Conservation, International, john key, national, tourism, trade
    Tags: , ,

    The world has become a very strange place when NZ is getting lectured by China. Problem is, they aren’t wrong.

  22. NRT: Look! More terrorists!

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 2:57 pm, August 2nd, 2013 -  14 comments
    Categories: john key, Spying
    Tags: , , ,

    I/S at No Right Turn questions the legal status of Key’s “warrants”.

  23. Key shows how much he really cares about security

    Written By:  Eddie -  Date published: 9:24 am, August 2nd, 2013 -  89 comments
    Categories: making shit up, Spying
    Tags:

    John Key claims there are Al Qaeda-linked Kiwis in the country and in Yemen. That raises several questions: 1) why haven’t they been arrested? 2) why do you need additional spy powers, if you already have these people 3) why is the PM breaching security and jeopardising the spying on these people? 4) isn’t that an extraordinary thing to do for the sake of political point scoring?

  24. Spy scandals – today’s required reading

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 11:24 am, August 1st, 2013 -  72 comments
    Categories: accountability, john key, Media, national, Spying
    Tags: , ,

    Here’s today’s required reading (so far) in the ongoing spy scandals that are swirling around John Key and his fiasco of a government. Hey Peter Dunne, are you really going to vote for more GCSB spying? Really?

  25. Jonolism or Journalism?

    Written By:  karol -  Date published: 7:44 pm, July 29th, 2013 -  50 comments
    Categories: broadcasting, david shearer, democracy under attack, housing, john banks, john key, overseas investment, russel norman, slippery, tv
    Tags: , ,

    Patrick Gower’s report on TV3 6pm News tonight, on Labour’s housing for Kiwis policy, shows what is wrong with corporate infotainment TV news.  He gets tonight’s award for Jonolism.  Here’s hoping the Campbell Live tonight will show Gower how it should be done. [Update: Campbell interviews Ferguson]

  26. GCSB protests at 2pm today

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 8:47 am, July 27th, 2013 -  132 comments
    Categories: cartoons, Politics
    Tags:

    This cartoon by Mark O’Brien at monsta.co.nz probably accurately reflects the distasteful uncertainty that many of us feel about the purpose and intent of John Key’s bill to control the past and future excesses of the GCSB. Put away a bit of your weekend at 2pm and come and show your MP’s why they should […]

  27. Dotcom developments

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 7:31 am, July 26th, 2013 -  104 comments
    Categories: accountability, john key, Spying
    Tags: , , ,

    The public trusts Kim Dotcom more than John Key (no surprise), and Journalist Selwyn Manning describes “some breaking news from Dotcom” on what Key knew, and when…

  28. Key fails first home buyers

    Written By:  James Henderson -  Date published: 7:35 am, July 24th, 2013 -  34 comments
    Categories: housing
    Tags:

    Key’s wringing his hands, saying that the Reserve bank is likely to bring in loan to value ratio requirements without an exception for first home buyers but claiming that first home buyers are still his priority. If that were true, he would have done his part to tackle the real problems in the housing market: speculators, foreign buyers, and lack of affordable home building.

  29. Fairness at work and a living wage

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 11:57 am, July 21st, 2013 -  8 comments
    Categories: class war, Economy, employment, health and safety, minimum wage, Unions, wages, workers' rights
    Tags: ,

    fairness-at-work-thumb-3The Government has been warned that the Employment Relations Amendment Bill is likely to breach ILO conventions.  Bridges has responded by saying that the breaches “may not be significant”.  Why is it that the Government gets all hard core when dealing with beneficiaries legal obligations but is so casual when it deals with its own obligations?

  30. Kevin Rudd and the boat people

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 2:10 pm, July 20th, 2013 -  165 comments
    Categories: aid, australian politics, International
    Tags: ,

    kevin_rudd-cryKevin Rudd announced yesterday that boat people will not be allowed to apply for refugee status in Australia and instead will be shipped to Papua New Guinea and they will have to try their luck there.  Tony Abbott thinks that the proposal is promising, Greens leader Christine Milne thinks it is ruthless and repugnant.  It seems that Rudd will do and promise anything for power.

  31. Poverty Watch 40

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 9:09 am, July 20th, 2013 -  10 comments
    Categories: national, poverty
    Tags:

    Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, poverty and educational outcomes.

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