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I'm interested in comparisons between systems that operate via "central command and control" vs. those that operate via "cooperation and emergent consensus". A classic example is the comparison between a corporation like Microsoft and the Open Source movement (see "The Cathedral and the Bazaar"). Football…
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Pete Bethune has had his sentence for bogus charges laid by Japanese whaling interests suspended. My warm congratulations to Pete and his family. They've suffered a lot of distress over the past few months as Japanese extremists called for Bethune's execution - all because he…
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Auckland Transport Blog saying the bleeding obvious about the aggrandizement project that appears to be Steven Joyce's grand vision for the future of transport in Auckland. If he was concentrating on reducing the road toll on this stretch of road, there are simpler and cheaper…
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Is $175 an hour to hire a clown a good deal? Because you and I might think we are paying $350,000 a year plus expenses for a Prime Minister but it seems not. Key spending his time opening a pizza place in China reminds me…
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The Herald has a headline article on John Keys "Party Central". But their cartoon really said it all. The question is:- How many 'good' ideas does it take before John Key manages to get one to actually work?
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The common wisdom is that first-term governments never go early. After all why would you cut short your period of mandate and lose valuable months of your carefully planned policy programme? But then again this not a usual government. Not even two years into their…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Stuff reports that under Minister Phil Heatley, Housing NZ will manage additions of only 275 houses for each of the next two years. Under the previous government 8000 state houses were added between 1999 and 2008. In a recession, with household budgets stretched, state provision…
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I had to laugh at this comment by Mako about my least favorite wingnut... More desperate anti-Brown smearing from Slater. His latest allegation is that 'Looney Len' wants every school to plant 500 trees a year. A waste of our precious education budget! he wails.…
auckland supercity blogs humour local body elections making shit up
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Not long after The White House Correspondents' Association met with Obama's Press Secretary to complain about limitations on their access, The White House launched its own weekly video blog. Presidential administrations have always tried to harness new communications technologies to shape a favorable image, says…
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No one really believes in pure capitalism, least of all capitalists, bankers and the like, who run screaming to the state to bail them out when things go wrong. "Privatise the profits, socialise the losses" - it was ever thus. Pure capitalism eats everything around…
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John Key is claiming that we need to defend our shores against a coming wave of boat people by buying into a detention center in Timor. I don't know whether he's trying to flank Winnie or whether he's just shooting off at the mouth after…
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For some time now National has been quietly making plans to subsume Archives New Zealand and the National Library within the Department of Internal Affairs. That's a dangerous plan for all sorts of constitutional and accountability reasons that can't be justified by any imaginary, vague…
accountability culture heritage history national public services
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Key's worried about us being even more bought out by foreigners. Key's in South Korea about to sign a Free Trade Agreement. New Zealand already has nearly no tariffs. Everyone knows the sweetener for the other side in these deals is opening up investment in…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Economists, bankers, Treasury officials, financial wizards of various kinds, they like to pretend that they know what they're talking about. All too often they don't. There's a reason economics is called the "dismal science". There's a reason why their predictions are usually about as accurate…
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Labour's lineup for the next election is emerging: The Labour Party has moved early to confirm a list of electorate candidates for next year's election. ... Confirmed electorate candidates; Auckland Central, Jacinda Ardern; Christchurch Central, Brendon Burns; Dunedin South, Clare Curran; Hamilton West, Sue Moroney;…
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PM warns against Kiwis becoming 'tenants' - The Herald John Key says that we've got to make sure we don't sell too many of our assets and end up sending the profits overseas. Good stuff, it's exactly what the Left has been saying and the…
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A few weeks ago I wrote a post about some of the risks New Zealand will face when off-shore oil exploration goes ahead. Now Gordon Campbell has published an excellent article at Werewolf that looks at the issue in a lot more depth.... At the…
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Neo-Liberalism is a failure; not just in human terms, but by its own measures. Since the concepts of neo-liberalism were wholeheartedly taken up by Roger & Ruth 26 years ago, up until our current government as the heirs to Rogernomics and Ruthenasia, neo-liberalism has driven…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Been a bit disappointed that there hasn't been a post up here yet on the news out on Saturday that Steve Chadwick is seeking support for a Member's Bill to make abortion truly on demand in NZ, to 24 weeks. Then I remembered that I…
abortion activism blogs feminism history Left news Parliament
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TVOne reports: Claims by Social Development Minister Paula Bennett that increasing the cost of tobacco could result in family violence are "pure speculation" according to one expert. In official papers released to ONE News, it's emerged Bennett had concerns in February there would be an…
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There has been extensive coverage recently of universities' tough new criteria to limit the number of students they will take next semester and next year. The universities of Auckland, Massey, Victoria and Otago have all recently announced criteria to limit the number of students they…
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From Bryan Walker at Hot Topic, and republished here with permission. We know that the vast majority of climate scientists support the explanation of anthropogenic climate change set out by the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change. That majority is now quantified in the first study…
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Still smells as crap. Roger Douglas has a private members bill to introduce bulk funding. It (hopefully) shouldn't get through - National are unlikely to support it and break yet another election promise. There are other impending private members bills that also aren't going to…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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It's school holiday time. You may noticed your work colleagues start to look a little glazed as the balance between home and work becomes more acute. You may even ask yourself - why do they do that to themselves at all? Who'd want to be…
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"Len Brown's Smackdown" screams the headline in Carolyne Meng-Yee's story about Len Brown today - and the first para makes it sound even worse: A split has emerged within Manukau Mayor Len Brown's campaign team over his controversial "Maori gesture". A split? This sounds serious!…
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The current incumbent of the illustrious Bagehot column* in The Economist is hanging up his pen there. However his final column number II has some reflections on the current nature of journalism and politics in Britian, which apply just as strongly here. He is discussing…