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On Nightline just now there was coverage of a meeting held by Nick Smith in St Heliers. Two interesting things: 1) there was an astounding level of anger, even vitriol, against him and the government over the ETS (from both sides of that argument), over…
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I haven't bothered looking too far for reaction to Paul Henry jerking off in public to attract attention to his personaility defect - inflated ego. Against the current had a post that captured my opinion the best - Meet Mr Stupid. This time the victim…
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As we predicted, the main recommendations of the Brash report have been rejected out of hand by John Key. They are, as intended, mere headline grabbers - outlandish, silly ideas like flat tax funded by slashing government spending by 20% (that's $17 billion). Forget relatively…
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I was interested to read in the Herald on Friday that Tip Top is under fire for cutting the size of its 2 litre ice-cream packs to 1.6 litres, without changing the price. Remind you of Cadbury, except without the palm oil? Well, maybe. A dairy…
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There is a very revealing article in this month's Metro magazine (not online) that takes a look at the strengths of the campaigns of the two declared candidates for the Auckland mayoralty. Interestingly the piece states that National and ACT are ready to dump John…
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Brash's taskforce releases its report today. Where's Key? CHOGM ended yesterday but he's not back until Wednesday. Catching Aussie by 2025 is meant to be his big vision. He can't get them to wait a couple of days or get back quicker? We know this…
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As the same old faces of the Right roll out the same old failed neoliberal ideas in new packaging, it's a useful time to rewatch Alister Barry's fantastic documentaries on what happened the last time round. In many cases even the faces haven't changed. Someone…
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Well the productivity task force is reporting back today and some of their ideas have been forward released. As we expected they are a grab-bag of unpalatable, short-sighted and frankly mad measures from the loony right including putting interest back on student loans, flat tax…
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Mark your calendar, and turn out next Saturday for the Planet A Concert and March (the concert to be webcast live): In Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, you'll be able to march, dance, listen to speakers, sing, and jump on bouncy castles in support of a good outcome…
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Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Will Key go to Copenhagen? Or rather, why wouldn't he want to go? According to TVNZ tonight: At least 90 world leaders are now expected to attend next month's global climate change talks in Copenhagen but New Zealand's prime minister still says he will not…
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In opposition, National claimed that Labour wasn't really getting people off benefits, it was just moving them from unemployment benefit and 'hiding' them on the sickness and invalid's benefits - Paula Bennett repeated the claim just this week in the House. But the facts prove…
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Among the breathless reporting of who John Key is having a meeting with ('he's talking to the Queen!' 'he's going to talk to India's PM), as if a meeting itself is an outcome, an achievement, I've seen one very interesting comment on CHOGM. On her…
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The delectable Mr Stephen Fry doesn't like the people who comment on blogs, and says so in his usual forthright, erudite and whimsical way: "I don't know about you but whenever I read a blog I do not let my eye drop below half the…
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Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Minister of Education Anne Tolley is obviously feeling the heat of the reaction to her inexplicably daft decision to read a moralising children's story book* to the PPTA Executive. Minister defends reading kid's book to PPTA ...The council says it was left somewhat bemused and…
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Below Omar of Socialist Aotearoa gives his impressions of Phil Goff at Drinking Liberally in Auckland earlier this week. On an unrelated note, isn't it funny (in a non-'ha, ha' way) how 4,000 pro-smackers gets lots of coverage but a blind eye is turned when the…
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Reading Fran O'Sullivan is always interesting because she provides an insight into the thinking of the business elite who fund National, and who expect it to govern for them. A lot of her article today is devoted to calling for radical reforms that obviously aren't politically viable…
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Lockwood Smith seems to be losing the plot. He's now issuing open threats to the Press Gallery of all things: Parliament's Speaker, Lockwood Smith, has warned the media that the coverage of MPs' expenses borders on lobbying, and if it continues he will treat journalists…
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon have called on world leaders to attend the Copenhagen talks on the new climate change treaty. President Obama will be attending as will the leaders of most major countries. Yet John Key still says he almost…
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Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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The Police have announced they will not be laying any charges against Richard Worth over the incident involving him and a Korean woman in a hotel room. That's not an exoneration from wrongdoing, of course, but it puts to rest the criminal case. Now,…
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Bomber over at Tumeke has a good post up on Goff's speech. Pointing out the Maori Party has Stockholm Syndrome is not race baiting That to me sums up Goff's speech, far more eloquently than I could. He referred to Eddies earlier post.... ..ouch, did…
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Phil Goff's speech on 'nationhood' was always going to be seen as an attempt to pull a Brash, regardless of what it actually said. The narrative was set from the start, and it's fair to suspect that Goff's people knew that and thought they'd take…
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Another instalment of "John Key's" video diary from talented impersonator PlumedeKiwi; this time taking a comedic stab at the PM's refusal to attend the UN climate talks in Copenhagen. Key has come under an increasing amount of pressure in recent weeks over the summit, widely…
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Gerry Brownlee is talking of digging up Coromandel to extract a few tens of millions of dollars worth of gold. Naturally, the company that owns the Waihi mine is all for it. The local community gets little benefit from mining. According to the 2006 census,…
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Just a reminder, thousands of hospital support staff, school support staff and other low-paid public sector workers are rallying in 27 centres nationwide today to tell the government to lift the freeze on low pay. The rallies are taking place from 12.30-1.30. If you can,…
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Much ado about nothing in the last few days, with the release of materials related to climate change and warming on both the international and local scales. First the international event - "Climategate" (sigh) - the now well known theft and publication of data from…
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Why is it that whenever you see discussion of introducing capital gains tax, land tax etc, the assumption is always that the money will be used to cut the top tax rates? That seems completely misguided to me. Why should tax reform be all about…
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Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...