Search Results

  1. Oh Canada! – let us not follow you.

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 3:19 pm, April 17th, 2021 -  23 comments
    Categories: covid-19, health, uncategorized
    Tags: , ,

    Looking at the vaccination program in NZ, I feel that many people are focusing on the wrong things. The most dangerous period in pandemic life cycle – gaining a sufficient population immunity fast enough to stop the inevitable complacency that allows another wave of infections. Ontario appears to have managed to get a new wave of infection rising as they are trying to run their vaccination program. That is the last thing we need.

  2. Well done John Edgar

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 9:41 am, April 10th, 2021 -  11 comments
    Categories: auckland supercity, Conservation, Deep stuff, Environment, supercity
    Tags:

    I’d thought I’d take a moment to celebrate the life of John Edgar, who passed away a few days ago.

  3. Resistance

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 3:24 pm, March 31st, 2021 -  50 comments
    Categories: blogs, uncategorized, Unions, workers' rights
    Tags:

    Chris Trotter recently asked the question about why there isn’t more resistance to the degree of inequality that we face in New Zealand. He’s partially right, we do spend an awfully amount of time arguing with each other about matters of smaller and smaller moment while inequality slides downhill from glacier to avalanche.  But intersectionalism isn’t the primary cause of activist cooling.

  4. Doocey is taking the piss

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 7:49 am, March 26th, 2021 -  12 comments
    Categories: health, health and safety, national, same old national, uncategorized, workers' rights
    Tags:

    Private member’s bills are an important feature of Parliament.  They give all MPs the chance to change the law to address real or perceived issues and problems.  So what does National MP Matt Doocey think is the country’s most pressing problem?

  5. Much ado about nothing

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 8:39 am, March 13th, 2021 -  18 comments
    Categories: chris bishop, parliamentary spending, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, uncategorized
    Tags:

    Chris Bishop is claiming credit for Labour finishing a deal whereby the party rented premises to Parliamentary Services for the use of Gillian Anderson MP at a level well below market rates.

  6. Dirty politics denouement

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 10:27 am, March 4th, 2021 -  29 comments
    Categories: blogs, Dirty Politics, the praiseworthy and the pitiful
    Tags:

    Another chapter of dirty politics has reached its conclusion with Carrick Graham offering an abject apology to Doug Sellman, Boyd Swinburn and Shane Bradbook for smearing their reputation via the Whaleoil website.

  7. Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi …

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 7:30 am, February 17th, 2021 -  144 comments
    Categories: Andrew Little, australian politics, jacinda ardern, scoundrels
    Tags:

    Yesterday Jacinda Ardern chose to use decidedly undiplomatic speech to address Australia’s removal of its citizenship from a Jihadi bride leaving her as New Zealand’s problem, even though her link to New Zealand was tenuous and she was for all intents and purposes Australia’s problem.  And even though Ardern had previously asked Scomo to be careful with the issue.

  8. Pandemic to endemic covid-19

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 9:30 am, February 13th, 2021 -  84 comments
    Categories: chris bishop, covid-19, health, International, Politics, Social issues
    Tags: ,

    Back in May, I wrote a post “Covid-19: may be endemic“. That is looking like it is more and more likely. The depth of infection in world populations means that recombinant variants are likely. Vaccines and previous immunity will reduce the death rates and infection rates. But won’t stop reinfection. Human behaviour will keep covid-19 as an endemic disease.

  9. Reasons to abandon NZ’s Five-Eyed Folly

    Written By:  khaki -  Date published: 2:35 pm, February 4th, 2021 -  29 comments
    Categories: australian politics, China, Culture wars, defence, economy, Free Trade, john key, spin, Spying, surveillance, telecommunications, trade, uk politics, us politics
    Tags:


    Wayne Brown’s recent suggestion “Is it time to sell our seat on FiveEyes?” is from someone well placed by experience to form an educated opinion. “Trade sanctions of the type Australia is facing are a weapon used by both USA and China. So let’s have a debate on whether we need Five Eyes, or whether it’s time for us to trade on independently.”

  10. Layers of Culpability

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 11:40 am, February 2nd, 2021 -  20 comments
    Categories: climate change, community democracy, disaster, Environment, local government
    Tags: , , , , , ,

    The huge tyre fire near Amberley in North Canterbury last Friday is in an area with a high water table, extreme fire risk in summer, two kilometres from a town of 2000 residents, and on the edge of one of NZ’s premier wine regions.

  11. Are Revolutions A Good Idea?

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 8:30 am, January 23rd, 2021 -  24 comments
    Categories: China, democratic participation, Donald Trump, political alternatives, Politics, Revolution, Russia, uk politics, uncategorized, us politics
    Tags:

    Revolt? Revolution? Pain in the ass? Depends, like comedy, on timing. And which side of history you end up on.

  12. The Parler purge

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 9:04 am, January 12th, 2021 -  87 comments
    Categories: Donald Trump, Media, social media lolz, uncategorized, us politics
    Tags:

    Parler, which attracted right wing extremists because of its refusal to apply any rules to what people said, has had its application banned by Google and Apple and Amazon has now refused to host its data.  But it has also had all of user’s data downloaded and archived and made available to everyone, including law enforcement authorities.  Think Dirty Politics but on industrial scale.

  13. How low will Bridges go?

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 11:00 am, January 2nd, 2021 -  24 comments
    Categories: drugs, making shit up, national, same old national, Simon Bridges, spin, you couldn't make this shit up
    Tags:

    Simon Bridges has spent the last week casting aspersions on people who have tragically died at Music Festivals in an attempt to score culture war inspired political points and undermine the Government’s new pill testing law.

  14. Chris Bishop goes woof woof on variant ‘B.1.1.7’

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 1:26 pm, December 28th, 2020 -  43 comments
    Categories: chris bishop, chris hipkins, covid-19, health, national, same old national, uk politics
    Tags:

    I realise that this would normally be our silly season, but it seems a bit macabre with the northern winter death toll. But nothing really excuses Chris Bishop for being a complete dickhead in barking for immediate offshore testing for travellers from the UK. It is pointless. The government are a bit more sensible. They’re instituting an extra test at our border.

  15. Shock horror, trickle down does not work

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 7:31 am, December 18th, 2020 -  54 comments
    Categories: capitalism, class war, Economy, tax, us politics
    Tags:

    In yet another study academics at the London School of Economics have concluded that trickle down leads to higher income inequality but do not have any significant effect on economic growth or unemployment.

  16. Tranquillum

    Written By:  Incognito -  Date published: 7:28 pm, December 6th, 2020 -  134 comments
    Categories: capital gains, class war, Economy, equality, Ethics, housing, labour, leadership, Politics, Social issues, vision
    Tags: ,

    Don’t expect a jellyfish to grow a spine, they just bob along on the current and keep moving, gently, slowly, kindly.

  17. Being real about the climate emergency

    Written By:  weka -  Date published: 6:05 am, December 4th, 2020 -  118 comments
    Categories: climate change, sustainability
    Tags: , , ,

    Green tech, negative emissions and carbon capture and storage won’t save us, but we have other options.

  18. Georgian Republicans are part of the deep state threat to Trump

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 8:05 am, November 23rd, 2020 -  22 comments
    Categories: Deep stuff, Donald Trump, elections, the praiseworthy and the pitiful
    Tags:

    Over in the US of A some amazing claims are being made with Trump’a lawyer claiming that in Georgia, which has perfected the art of disenfranchising Black American voters, there has been a deep seated conspiracy to lose the state for Trump.  And Venezuela is involved.  

  19. National’s annual conference

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 9:47 am, November 22nd, 2020 -  64 comments
    Categories: election 2020, Judith Collins, national, same old national
    Tags:

    National has heeded the calls for change and rejuvination by returning Peter Goodfellow as its president.

  20. Time’s up Labour

    Written By:  weka -  Date published: 4:50 pm, November 20th, 2020 -  114 comments
    Categories: community democracy, democratic participation, grant robertson, greens, housing, jacinda ardern, labour, Metiria Turei, poverty
    Tags:

    It’s not possible to resolve New Zealand’s housing and poverty crises from within a neoliberal frame. Change is going to have to be driven from outside of parliament.

  21. Trump loses the presidency, but Trumpism lives on

    Written By:  nickkelly -  Date published: 12:30 am, November 19th, 2020 -  8 comments
    Categories: democratic participation, Donald Trump, electoral systems, First Past the Post, Joe Biden, us politics
    Tags: , , , , , ,

    The reality is that the United States is a poor example of a functioning democracy in 2020.

  22. Some men just want to see the World burn

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 8:24 am, November 12th, 2020 -  58 comments
    Categories: Donald Trump, politicans, uncategorized, us politics
    Tags: ,

    Normally when you lose an election you say nice things about the winner and make way for them. But is Trump doing this in the US of A? No sirree. From refusing Biden transition resources to instructing officials not to cooperate with Biden’s team to mass sackings of Defense officials to various failed cases Trump is obstructing the transition every step of the way.

  23. A tsunami of wing clipped kiwi?

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 9:52 am, November 9th, 2020 -  45 comments
    Categories: Economy, exports, immigration, International
    Tags:

    The rush back home has definitely been happening and appears to mainly be constrained at present by the limits on quarantine facilities. It has already helped to mitigate the drops in immigration and probably will in the future. Nowhere near as economically important and productive as our exports. But useful for reducing unemployment for those not exposed to the export economy.

  24. This is how you do it America

    Written By:  weka -  Date published: 6:05 am, November 7th, 2020 -  79 comments
    Categories: us politics
    Tags: ,

    Day four of the US election (general discussion thread).

  25. The Covid crisis

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 11:43 am, November 1st, 2020 -  51 comments
    Categories: boris johnson, covid-19, Donald Trump, Europe, uk politics
    Tags:

    A surge in Covid infections in Europe and in the United States is raising the specter that the most pessimistic predictions about the disease and its effect on the health system may occur.   And right wing governments appear to be spectacularly unable to deal with the crisis.

  26. On the US election.

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 9:42 am, October 30th, 2020 -  30 comments
    Categories: Donald Trump, International, Joe Biden, us politics
    Tags:

    This year forecasting the U.S. election has an interesting additional element, with Trump and the Republican Party gearing up to steal the election if it is not a landslide for their opponents. It is going to be difficult with Joe Biden currently estimated at a 89% probability of winning the electoral college.

  27. Will consensus building paralyse Ardern?

    Written By:  Simon Louisson -  Date published: 7:14 am, October 21st, 2020 -  33 comments
    Categories: capital gains, Economy, jacinda ardern, Judith Collins, labour, national, Politics, same old national, tax
    Tags:

    Jacinda Ardern aims to bet both ways on our future – transforming Aotearoa to rid us of inequality and poverty, and building consensus. She has won a mandate with her historic, landslide victory but can she do both? My question is whether Labour are willing to do that because of her desire to maintain consensus and not rock the waka.

  28. NZ election 2020: Labour win is a watershed moment in the country’s history

    Written By:  nickkelly -  Date published: 12:27 am, October 20th, 2020 -  47 comments
    Categories: act, capital gains, capitalism, Christchurch Attack, democratic participation, education, election 2020, elections, electoral systems, employment, greens, housing, jacinda ardern, labour, Maori Issues, MMP, national, nz first, Parliament, tax, terrorism, tertiary education, transport, workers' rights
    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

    The 2020 election was more than just a victory for Labour and more than a crushing defeat for the National Party (New Zealand’s main centre-right political party). This result marks a significant watershed in New Zealand politics which will likely have implications long after this parliamentary term.

  29. Left/Green/Indigenous

    Written By:  weka -  Date published: 12:32 pm, October 18th, 2020 -  135 comments
    Categories: election 2020, greens, labour, maori party, MMP
    Tags:

    What kind of government might New Zealand have?

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