Search Results

  1. Farewell

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 12:40 pm, November 19th, 2008 -  96 comments
    Categories: helen clark, labour
    Tags:

    A crowd several hundred strong turned out this morning to farewell Helen Clark as she left Parliament as Prime Minister for the last time to present her Government’s official resignation to the Governor-General. Even though I’m a Greenie, I always find Labour events amazingly heart-warming – such a huge variety of people young and old […]

  2. Credit where it’s due

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 12:04 pm, November 19th, 2008 -  30 comments
    Categories: economy, Media, national/act government, wages
    Tags:

    It’s exam season for high school students. So, for 10 points explain how the following statement (in the ACT-National agreement and repeated uncritically by the media) can be true, closing the income gap with Australia by 2025… will require a sustained lift in New Zealand’s productivity growth to 3 per cent a year. given: – […]

  3. Right plans give away to rich at your expense

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 6:48 am, November 18th, 2008 -  72 comments
    Categories: national/act government, tax
    Tags:

    Part of the National/ACT government’s agreement is that a top tax rate of 30% will be the target for the ‘medium term’. Such a cut would cost about $2 billion a year. Now, I have nothing in principle against reducing tax (and nothing in principle against increasing it, for that matter). It’s a question of […]

  4. Obama launches weekly YouTube address

    Written By:  all_your_base -  Date published: 9:05 pm, November 17th, 2008 -  13 comments
    Categories: International, us politics, youtube
    Tags: , ,

  5. Retro

    Written By:  IrishBill -  Date published: 4:09 pm, November 17th, 2008 -  46 comments
    Categories: national/act government
    Tags:

    It seems 80’s retro has finally moved from being manifest only as the return of skinny jeans and naff facial hair and is now rearing its ugly big-haired head in parliament. Of course I’m talking not just about 80’s rock legend Roger Douglas but also this clause in the National/ACT confidence and supply agreement: Establishing […]

  6. Nats step to the right with ACT

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 3:52 pm, November 16th, 2008 -  109 comments
    Categories: national/act government
    Tags:

    As we predicted, National has used a confidence and supply agreement with ACT as a vehicle for its true right-wing agenda. National has given a wide range of concessions to ACT, far more than is necessary to gain ACT’s already pledged support. Together, they amount to a far more rightwing policy program than National promised. […]

  7. Post traumatic Obama disorder

    Written By:  all_your_base -  Date published: 5:48 pm, November 14th, 2008 -  11 comments
    Categories: humour, interweb
    Tags: ,

    While there have been reports here of distraught voters calling the police and helplines for assistance in dealing with the trauma of a National/Act government, spare a thought for the millions of Obama supporters around the world who, now victorious, find themselves with no purpose in life… (Via: Swiss Miss)

  8. Polar bear returns

    Written By:  Tane -  Date published: 11:28 am, November 14th, 2008 -  17 comments
    Categories: climate change, national/act government
    Tags:

    From Scoop: The hapless polar bear that emerged during the recent TVNZ You-Tube leaders debate has resurfaced to issue a plea to Prime Minister-elect John Key. “The planet is on the slide due to climate change,” stresses the bear. “Me and my ilk are like canaries in the coal mine. But by-God we’re not the […]

  9. Young Tory of the Year

    Written By:  Tane -  Date published: 5:10 pm, November 13th, 2008 -  50 comments
    Categories: humour, youtube
    Tags:

    A mate just sent me this, classic:

  10. Unbelievably awesome

    Written By:  all_your_base -  Date published: 11:03 am, November 13th, 2008 -  11 comments
    Categories: activism, interweb
    Tags: , ,

    Via Laughing Squid: This morning in NYC international pranksters The Yes Men recruited volunteers through the website Because We Want It to distribute thousands of copies of a fake version of the New York Times dated July 4, 2009 with the headline ‘Iraq War Ends’. Gawaker describes how the prank came together and here’s the reaction from the New York Times. There is also […]

  11. 08wire signs off

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 2:55 pm, November 10th, 2008 -  8 comments
    Categories: activism, blogs, youtube
    Tags:

    As a kid at a decile two high school in under National in the nineties, the one thing I did get a good education in was heavy metal. So, I appreciate 08wire setting their final video to the great Metallica ballad ‘Nothing Else Matters’. You’ve done fantastic work, see you in 2011, if not before.

  12. Musical interlude for John

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 1:59 pm, November 9th, 2008 -  12 comments
    Categories: uncategorized
    Tags:

    I’m a money lender I have fortunes upon fortunes Take my hand for tender I am tortured, ever tortured And if you don’t love me Let me go

  13. Election Night Live Blogging: The Live Post

    Written By:  Julie Fairey -  Date published: 7:30 pm, November 8th, 2008 -  195 comments
    Categories: uncategorized
    Tags:

    If the existence or nature of this post confuses you hopefully you will find the answer over here. 7.01pm Ok here we go! I expect there won’t be too much to live blog for the first hour or so… 7.15pm Party vote currently: Nat 48%, Lab 32%, Greens 6%, NZF 4.4%, Act 3.3%, Maori 1.5%, […]

  14. Video: Get the vote out

    Written By:  Dancer -  Date published: 1:59 pm, November 6th, 2008 -  12 comments
    Categories: election 2008, youtube
    Tags:

    Want a say in who will run the country – let’s get the vote out. Just as long as they know it’s Saturday 8th November!

  15. Greens’ closing broadcast

    Written By:  Tane -  Date published: 12:23 pm, November 6th, 2008 -  4 comments
    Categories: election 2008, greens
    Tags:

    Via frogblog, the Greens’ closing campaign broadcast. I’d put Labour’s up too, but I can’t find it.

  16. Pigs in muck

    Written By:  IrishBill -  Date published: 10:29 am, November 6th, 2008 -  137 comments
    Categories: election 2008, national
    Tags:

    Yesterday, John Key was telling journalists that he knew the secret agenda taper, Kees Keizer, was a Labour Party activist. In fact, he knew that wasn’t true, which is why he refused to name him. The Herald has. And what it’s also reveled is a close relationship between Cameron Slater and the National Party research […]

  17. Context

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 6:43 am, November 6th, 2008 -  10 comments
    Categories: bill english, election 2008, iraq, john key, national, youtube
    Tags:

    Yesterday morning on Sunrise, John Key was moaning that there is no context to the latest secret agenda tape, where Bill English praises the war in Iraq and criticises Bill English’s ‘moralistic’ approach to international relations. Key is right, context helps us undestand information better. Luckily, Scoop’s library keeps every media release, so we can […]

  18. Another politician caught in taping sting

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 4:00 pm, November 5th, 2008 -  6 comments
    Categories: humour, youtube
    Tags:

  19. The Nats on Iraq

    Written By:  all_your_base -  Date published: 11:55 am, November 5th, 2008 -  34 comments
    Categories: bill english, iraq, john key
    Tags: , ,

    The Nats have had two responses to English’s “pull the trigger” comments revealed last night: first the taping itself was branded a “dirty trick” and now we have Key claiming on Sunrise this morning that the comments may have been taken out of context. Well here’s a view of his own, straight from Hansard, with […]

  20. Key, still telling lies

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 7:59 am, November 5th, 2008 -  34 comments
    Categories: election 2008, john key, youtube
    Tags:

    Ahead of the final leaders’ debate tonight, 08wire has produced a video on John Key’s lies in the second debate. What strikes me about these lies is how they are, for the most part, of the ‘New Zealand sucks’ ilk and that they are quite petty. I guess telling lots of smaller lies lessens the […]

  21. English “worried” about Obama

    Written By:  all_your_base -  Date published: 8:10 pm, November 4th, 2008 -  97 comments
    Categories: bill english, election 2008, iraq, john key, youtube
    Tags: , , ,

    More from 3News tonight on the secret recordings taken at the Naitonal Party conference in August. This time it’s Bill English expressing concern over Barack Obama’s “moralistic” stance to international relations: I’m a bit worried about this whole Obama and Europe thing, just because there’s a limited effectiveness in being moralistic about international relations… and the […]

  22. Fresh ideas

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 2:34 pm, November 4th, 2008 -  10 comments
    Categories: activism, election 2008, john key, youtube
    Tags:

    Part 3 in the CTU’s series of election vids. The best yet You can see the other two here

  23. More vids from the campaign trail

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 10:42 am, November 4th, 2008 -  43 comments
    Categories: activism, election 2008, john key, youtube
    Tags:

    We’ve just received these. The first is from Hollowman productions, who brought us the famous Porirua markets video. The second is a video a reader took when he was stopped by a plain-clothes cop after asking a leftwing question to John Key at a campaign event. The question he asked is here

  24. Nats will only cut Kiwisaver by 44-49% -cries ASA

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 1:16 pm, November 3rd, 2008 -  17 comments
    Categories: uncategorized
    Tags:

    The Advertising Standards Authority’s decision that Labour’s Kiwisaver ad is inaccurate is ridiculous. 08wire’s vid shows why. The ASA admits in its decision that is has no power over TV, radio, or Youtube ads so what gives them the right to cast judgment on an ad that only appeared in those media? In fact, it […]

  25. Advertising, getting it right and getting it wrong

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 10:56 am, November 3rd, 2008 -  62 comments
    Categories: election 2008, labour, Media
    Tags:

    Labour’s new ad is one of the best political ads I’ve seen. It’s just a really well written script: acknowledging the success of the Right’s ‘time for a change’ meme and undercutting it, getting in some positive points on Labour that are forward-looking, and getting in the sting on Key. ‘Mary’ is what National calls […]

  26. Side-show

    Written By:  Tane -  Date published: 6:12 pm, October 31st, 2008 -  32 comments
    Categories: election 2008, labour, national, workers' rights
    Tags:

    I see the media are now comparing the ‘redundancy’ packages on offer with all of the horse race vigour they applied to the tax cuts. That’s understandable as the media like quantifiable measures so they can make simple graphs and X is greater or less than Y soundbite statements. But what they have forgotten is […]

  27. Greenpeace converts John’s office

    Written By:  Tane -  Date published: 3:22 pm, October 31st, 2008 -  34 comments
    Categories: activism, climate change, john key, national
    Tags:

    Some great political theatre from Greenpeace yesterday. A bunch of climate activists got up at the crack of dawn, plastered ready-made lawn around the outside of John Key’s electorate office, then put up some wee pine trees and stumps alongside a billboard saying ‘Would John solve this climate crime?’ Looks like a couple of them […]

  28. Granny Herald yearns for good old days but democracy alive and well

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 2:59 pm, October 31st, 2008 -  16 comments
    Categories: activism, election 2008, Media, national
    Tags:

    The Herald is once again trying to convince us that everyone is so scared of the EFA that there is no poltiical participation going on. Once again, they cite some rich right-wing organisations that don’t want to have to identify themselves when advertising, and so haven’t advertised at all. It seems the Right’s view is […]

  29. The Standard Week: 24-31 October

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 2:35 pm, October 31st, 2008 -  10 comments
    Categories: standard week
    Tags:

    Two more examples of senior Nats hiding their conflicts of interest, in violation of Parliament’s rules, were revealed on The Standard this week. This time, however, the Nats were smart enough to have the issue fronted by chief spin-doctor Kevin Taylor and Gerry Brownlee, who knew that a robust response was the way to satisfy […]

  30. Whose record is better?

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 11:19 am, October 31st, 2008 -  6 comments
    Categories: activism, election 2008, greens, labour, national, youtube
    Tags:

    I found it weird that National’s attack ad is a series of newspaper headlines. Everyone knows newspaper headlines are sensationalist and everyone knows that things were much worse under National in the 1990s, as this new youtube vid illustrates: Meanwhile, the upbeat jokers at 08wire have a positive reponse to the Nat attack ad:

  31. Ripping the stuffing out

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 11:40 am, October 30th, 2008 -  1 comment
    Categories: humour, john key, kiwisaver, national, wages, workers' rights, youtube
    Tags:

    The CTU has released a second great youtube vid. Well worth a watch and emailing around.

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