Search Results

  1. Jackson statement worsens Hobbit fiasco

    Written By:  Eddie -  Date published: 8:23 am, December 23rd, 2010 -  80 comments
    Categories: film, workers' rights
    Tags: , , ,

    Peter Jackson yesterday did what the government has refused to do and commented on the revelation that he told Gerry Brownlee the Actors’ Equity blacklist was no threat to the Hobbit movies being filmed here. Unfortunately, Jackson has just further sullied his reputation by revealing the true motives for the Hobbit Enabling Act.

  2. State asset for sale

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 8:30 am, December 21st, 2010 -  39 comments
    Categories: national, privatisation
    Tags: ,

    Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee has waited, until after the year-end press gallery drinks, to announce that the state owned Whirinaki power plant will be sold by tender process.  The Government talks about having our interests at heart, but the truth is that it is selling off the family silver again.  And slippery John Key is doing it while we’re focussed on Christmas.

  3. Herald into smear mode for election year

    Written By:  Eddie -  Date published: 11:19 pm, December 18th, 2010 -  72 comments
    Categories: making shit up
    Tags: , ,

    It must be coming up to election year, because whenever I load Granny Herald there’s some ludicrous attack on Labour or love-piece on Key. The Herald on Sunday has some Wikileaks cables and the ones they’ve chosen to pre-release supposedly shows Labour was willing to give up the anti-nuke law  but didn’t to win votes. They show no such thing. [Updated]

  4. Is free trade worth it?

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 12:00 pm, December 18th, 2010 -  24 comments
    Categories: Economy, exports
    Tags:

    Over at No Right Turn, I/S has picked up on some Aussie research that shows Free Trade Agreements aren’t the huge money spinners they’re sold as. Because FTAs create different rules for different trading partners, exporters have to meet complicated ‘rules of origin’ to prove they quality for the lower tariffs. The cost can eat up the supposed benefits.

  5. Sykes on neoliberalism & the iwi elite

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 12:10 pm, December 15th, 2010 -  18 comments
    Categories: capitalism, Maori Issues, maori party
    Tags:

    Annette Sykes recently delivered the annual Bruce Jesson Lecture concerning ‘The Politics of the Brown Table’. Much of her address is a harsh critique of the so called ‘iwi elite’ and their neo liberal agenda. In my opinion her assessments are true and justified. Without doubt neo liberalism undermines Maori efforts for self determination

  6. You really can’t square the circle

    Written By:  Eddie -  Date published: 11:37 pm, December 12th, 2010 -  18 comments
    Categories: brand key, foreshore and seabed
    Tags:

    One of the central tenets of Brand Key is that he can do what ‘normal’ politicians can’t. With his boundless optimism and those mysterious trader skills, he can solve problems no-one else can. For a while, some believed he can satisfied both Maori and the Rednecks on the foreshore. Of course, really, he had just done a cheap rebrand of the existing law.

  7. Time for Turia to go

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 7:30 am, December 11th, 2010 -  65 comments
    Categories: foreshore and seabed, Maori Issues, maori party
    Tags: ,

    Labour has opened the door on cross party negotiations to achieve a true consensus on the foreshore.  But Tariana Turia is too locked in to ancient personal hatreds to do anything but reject the offer.  In doing so she has become a huge obstacle to progress on the very goals that she claims to support.  It’s time for Turia to step down.

  8. Re:Cunliffe re:me re:his speech

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 10:30 am, December 3rd, 2010 -  20 comments
    Categories: Economy, labour, privatisation
    Tags: , ,

    It was pretty cool that the next Finance Minister wrote a post about my post yesterday. Even if was to say I was dickishly misinterpreting him  😀 I’ve got a couple of points in reply but the biggest is why is Labour talking about (restrictive) privatisation and PPPs policies when there are much more important economic issues at hand?

  9. Who has “blood on their hands”?

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 7:03 am, December 1st, 2010 -  22 comments
    Categories: iraq, us politics
    Tags: ,

    Amongst other angry and aggressive rhetoric, American politicians have accused the leakers of the diplomatic cables of having “blood on their hands”.  Will the leaked cables put lives at risk?  Perhaps, but I believe that many more lives would be made safe if the actions and attitudes of our governments, and the “intelligence” that they work with, were more open to the people.

  10. Labour’s Brotherly Dynamic Duo

    Written By:  Michael Foxglove -  Date published: 11:30 am, November 30th, 2010 -  38 comments
    Categories: election 2011
    Tags: , ,

    They’ve already been dubbed NZ’s David and Ed Milliband.

    Brothers David and Ben Clark will both be standing for Labour in the 2011 general election. David is standing for the safe Dunedin North seat, while Ben will be taking on Wayne Mapp on the North Shore.

    Both would do well as MPs.

  11. Psychopaths make the best capitalists

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 9:28 am, November 26th, 2010 -  223 comments
    Categories: capitalism, Economy
    Tags:

    It’s a special breed of people who can deny workers a cost of living pay increase while pocketing a hundred thousand dollar a week pay cheque. It’s a special breed who can take people’s livelihoods or risk their health and safety to add a few cents to the share price. Research names that breed: psychopaths. Capitalism is built by and for them.

  12. Welfare working group follows the formula

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 1:17 pm, November 25th, 2010 -  40 comments
    Categories: benefits, class war
    Tags: ,

    I’m not going to waste a lot of time on the Welfare Working Group’s report. It follows the Brash-esque formula of mis-representing the issue as some massive problem and then presenting ‘solutions’ that have failed overseas. Like the Brash reports, it will be used by the Nats for bait and switch, making their actual cuts seem moderate by comparison.

  13. Amazing coincidences

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 2:07 pm, November 23rd, 2010 -  35 comments
    Categories: accountability, john key
    Tags: , ,

    You remember John Key’s ‘blind trust’ that turned out not to be so blind. Key denied all but anyone could easily see into the ‘blind trust’. Key certainly knew of his wine and dairy interests, giving him a conflict of interest he failed to declare. Now, after the furor, the ‘blind trust’ has sold the shares. Funny things, coincidences.

  14. S&P downgrades defenceless, exposed NZ

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 11:41 am, November 23rd, 2010 -  69 comments
    Categories: Economy, tax
    Tags: , , ,

    Standard and Poor’s shock move to downgrade our credit rating caused markets to plunge late yesterday. Bill English’s reaction, predictably, is to pretend nothing is wrong. John Key says it’s about debt, even as he borrows for tax cuts. But let’s look at what S&P says is wrong with us:

  15. Tolley ignores mistreatment of kids at private schools

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 10:58 am, November 18th, 2010 -  17 comments
    Categories: education
    Tags:

    Anne Tolley has ignored the advice of the Law Commission and the desire of parents that private schools be required to provide a “safe and supportive” environment for children. She says there’s no problem to fix. Unfortunately that’s not true. Rather than make them accountable, Tolley is opening the public purse strings for private schools.

  16. Jeff Rubin on oil & the end of globalisation

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 4:29 pm, November 14th, 2010 -  29 comments
    Categories: Economy
    Tags: , , ,

    Economist Jeff Rubin explains that the peak oil crisis is the underlying cause of the global economic crisis and why the economy isn’t shaking itself out of recession as in the past. In the age of peak oil, trade advantages will be overwhelmed by transport costs. The winners will be self-sufficient countries with their own agricultural and manufacturing bases.

  17. ‘Playing fair’ makes us losers in currency wars

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 6:29 am, November 12th, 2010 -  51 comments
    Categories: capitalism, Economy, monetary policy, overseas investment
    Tags: , ,

    The US Government has begun creating new money out of thin air, to inflate away the value of its debt and lower its currency to make its industries more competitive. It’s not the only country. Nearly all the major currencies are engaged in the ‘Currency Wars’, trying to force down their exchanger rates. We’re in the cross-fire doing nothing.

  18. High pay makes elitists view us as serfs

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 12:31 pm, November 9th, 2010 -  41 comments
    Categories: business, capitalism, wages
    Tags:

    I’ve never really understood the logic of paying CEOs multi-million dollar salaries. Can Telecom’s $7m man, Paul Reynolds, for example, really be worth 100 skilled technicians? Is there no-one who is basically as good who would work for a million or two less? Now, research shows high pay gaps for CEOs actually makes them worse bosses.

  19. Children bigger than politics

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 7:21 am, November 8th, 2010 -  35 comments
    Categories: dpf, education, national
    Tags: ,

    Shame on those who put politics above the well-being of children. Pity those who wallow so intensively in the mud of politics that they are unable to see any issue in other than political terms. Shame and pity on those, like National’s pet blogger DPF, who are prepared to advocate a system likely to damage children because all they can see is politics.  They can’t see the evidence.  They can’t see the children.  Only the game.

  20. Man for all seasons – book review

    Written By:  Mike Smith -  Date published: 8:42 pm, November 7th, 2010 -  23 comments
    Categories: uncategorized
    Tags:

    “Man for all Seasons” is the title of David Grant’s authorised biography of Ken Douglas ONZ. The choice of title puzzled me – “A Man for all Seasons” is the title of Robert Bolt’s award-winning play about Sir (later Saint) Thomas More, whose refusal to endorse Henry VIII’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon led him […]

  21. New Left Party?

    Written By:  Eddie -  Date published: 11:20 am, November 7th, 2010 -  209 comments
    Categories: election 2011, Left, political parties, rumour
    Tags: , ,

    The rumour mill has been buzzing since a couple of commenters here let slip about Matt McCarten’s run in the Mana by-election. Word around the traps is the campaign will be used to launch a new Left Party with McCarten, Hone Harawira, Sue Bradford and others. It’s an exciting possibility.

  22. Managing Addiction

    Written By:  Bill -  Date published: 2:16 pm, November 6th, 2010 -  32 comments
    Categories: capitalism, class war, Deep stuff
    Tags: , ,

    We’ve had numerous prescriptions claiming to tackle ever growing numbers of social ills, but the elephant in the room; the underlying cause for our problems as a society is always, assiduously ignored.  And that means that many of our resources are being wasted (perhaps deliberately) on illusory problems.

  23. Neoliberal dominoes

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 9:55 am, November 6th, 2010 -  51 comments
    Categories: capitalism, greens, labour, leadership, Left, monetary policy
    Tags: ,

    According to some, the very definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  In economic terms the world, and NZ, have been doing the same neoliberal economic agenda over and over for the last 30 years.  It hasn’t worked.  It’s time for a change…

  24. Game over Tolley

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 7:03 am, November 5th, 2010 -  161 comments
    Categories: dpf, education, national
    Tags: ,

    Anne Tolley has lost the debate on national standards.  The boycott looks set to gather strength, and even The Herald has come out against them.  The empirical evidence, academic consensus and weight of professional opinion has always been against standards.  The only ones still defending them are hacks and shills pushing a political agenda.

  25. National’s Privatisation Agenda Continues

    Written By:  Bunji -  Date published: 9:17 am, November 4th, 2010 -  25 comments
    Categories: bill english, health, prisons, public services, same old national
    Tags: , ,

    National are continuing their privatisation by stealth.  Hospitals services and a new prison are the current targets.  Tony Ryall, Judith Collins and Bill English are the ministers currently pushing their ideology in their respective areas.

  26. Tolley pushes ‘choice’ in private schools over child welfare

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 9:45 am, November 2nd, 2010 -  116 comments
    Categories: education
    Tags: ,

    Anne Tolley’s Education Amendment Bill 2, due out of Select Committee next week, ignores the Law Commission’s call for “light-handed” legislation to deal with 100 year old gaps that leave children at private schools in a legal vacuum regarding their welfare.   Instead the Nats will hand unspecified sums of public money to private schools.

  27. Treasury: peering into the dark with a broken torch

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 12:09 am, November 2nd, 2010 -  55 comments
    Categories: Economy, Keynes
    Tags: , ,

    I saw Labour’s press release yesterday about the latest Treasury monthly statements. Basically, Treasury says ‘the economy’s a whole lot worse than we expected but we stand by our growth forecasts in the Budget’. Odd, because the Budget forecast 1.6% growth so far this year and it has actually been 0.7%. How good is Treasury at forecasting?

  28. Democratising capital

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 10:18 am, October 30th, 2010 -  85 comments
    Categories: capitalism, Deep stuff, democratic participation
    Tags:

    After the Hobbit debacle, no-one can fail to understand the power that those who control capital exercise in a capitalist economy. The system is set up for them, hence the name, and their power is never stronger than during recessions. While capital is unaccountable, we cannot have true democracy and freedom. How can we democratise capital?

  29. Harawira off foreshore committee

    Written By:  Eddie -  Date published: 9:06 am, October 28th, 2010 -  7 comments
    Categories: accountability, maori party, Parliament
    Tags: , ,

    Select committees are very important. They take Bills after first reading, hear submissions, and recommend alterations. Ministers do not (usually) sit on them and they are not meant to be mere rubber stamps for the government. But Harawira’s removal from the foreshore committee shows this government doesn’t care about good lawmaking.

  30. A time of trouble, a time for action

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 2:15 pm, October 25th, 2010 -  5 comments
    Categories: class war, climate change, Deep stuff, International, iraq
    Tags: , ,

    The release of 400,000 classified documents on the Iraq war today highlights a much broader issue for New Zealand. As the world moves into uncertainty, some commentators call it a ‘new new world order’, New Zealand must establish itself definitively, cementing the values we wish to hold true for the coming century.

  31. The sea-change on the left

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 1:59 pm, October 25th, 2010 -  41 comments
    Categories: Economy, exports, film, jobs, Politics, spin, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, Unions
    Tags:

    One of the strange things about helping to run a left blog like this is looking at the varied opinions of those on the left of the political spectrum, and then looking at the monolithic opinions that the right seem to have of the left. I was musing on this while reading Matt McCarten’s excellent Saturday article. Now you have to understand that Matt and myself are almost at the ends of the spectrum when it comes to politics on the left….

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