Explore the archive
Find articles and conversations by date, subject or search expression.
Searching: posts Sorted by: newest Results: 2,371–2,400 of 2,431
Post
The media coverage of Prince William's visit really has gone a step too far. Aside from dominating TV, radio, and the newspapers, every time I check out stuff.co.nz I'm presented with an excited "LATEST: Prince William gets into car". I know it's easy journalism. But…
Post
Cameron 'Whaleoil' Slater has launched 'SHAME'. It's supposedly a lobby group to get suppression laws changed. Really, it looks like a money making scheme for the workshy Slater. SHAME seems to have no members apart from Slater. He says "We are fortunate to be supported…
Post
John Key has ruled out a $2.50 an hour pay increase for New Zealand's lowest paid workers but won't give any indication of what increase he does think is right. He claims that an increase to $15 an hour would cost jobs. I would love…
Post
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
Post
At the end of the month the new kindergarten year begins. Reading this article in the SSTimes from yesterday reminded me of just how hard the question of childcare is for many parents: The Kiwi tradition of sending pre-schoolers to kindy is losing favour, as…
Post
Traditionally, the minimum wage was set at around 60-67% of the average wage. During the Muldoon era and the 1990s, National let the minimum wage stagnate, with inflation eating away at its value. It declined to as low as 34% of the average wage under Muldoon…
Post
Statements made in Parliament last year, in chronological order: Hon BILL ENGLISH: They have been telling us that we should copy the Australian fiscal stimulus, when Australia's unemployment rate is close to 6%—whereas our fiscal stimulus has kept our unemployment rate down to 5%. So…
Post
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
Post
You heard it here first. This is a post. Written by me. Am I being slightly narcissistic? Well if I am, TV3 was far worse when they aired their story tonight about the media attention Prince William's visit was receiving - ahead of the disaster unfolding…
Post
Deborah Coddington, former ACT MP and author of the filthy racist article "Asian Angst: Is it time to send some back?" that killed North & South's reputation, waffles on about 'snitches' in her Herald on Sunday article. Coddington says snitching - informing the public or the authorities…
Post
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow covers the outragous comments by rightwing Christian fundamentalist Pat Robertson on the Haitian earthquake. Great to see this bigot confronted. Need more Maddows in journalism. [First time I've embedded from MSNBC. It's awesome. They let you clip their video just for the…
Post
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
Post
Phil Goff has picked up on the point I made yesterday: while unemployment is falling in Australia due to the $42 billion stimulus package implemented by the Rudd Government, in New Zealand unemployment is still rising while this do nothing government sits on its arse,…
Post
When you get a cold snap in the local weather, it means that somewhere else got somewhat warmer. Weather is a case of local shifts in energy balances. Climate changes on the other hand are an overall shifting due to underlying changes in energy inflows…
Post
After all of the kerfuffle about Key's long holidays I figure there's not much for me to say about it but it's worth remembering what his plans for the fourth week of annual leave were just before it came into effect: It's not the man's…
Post
There is a story in today's Herald noting that current C&R Hobson councillor Aaron Bhatnagar is not going to stand for the new super-council. He is taking on the running of Banks' faltering mayoral campaign and has been offered a job in the new mayoral…
Post
Despite almost never agreeing with Fran O'Sullivan, I have respect for her. She comes from the ACT-right and her pieces reflect that but she argues honestly and intelligently, the latter in particular being in short supply in this country's political discourse. So, I'm a bit…
Post
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
Post
Both David Farrar and Cameron Slater have posts up attacking a comment by roger nome in one of our comment threads, and it shows they are worried about Key's image as a do nothing 'Minister for Overseas Holidays'. On the surface level, it's kind of…
Post
So, Tariana Turia has (eventually) come out against Paula Bennett's pointless policy of making people on the unemployment benefit reapply after a year. Of course, Turia is for work-for-the-dole, which is just as stupid. Looks like there will be a show-down, a fight between the two dumbest…
Post
Today I thought I'd link to some of the amazing scenery Gerry Brownlee wants to bulldoze for his road through the middle of Fiordland National Park. This is a picture of the Hollyford Valley from Hollyford track's gallery [hat-tip norightturn]. These guys look like they…
Post
Last year, Tony Ryall announced health reforms (ironically, an additional layer of beaurcracy) that he claimed would save $700 million over five years, about 1% of the health budget. Now, Labour has revealed, that estimate is at the high end of a range and the low-end…
Post
Well, I didn't think it could done but it has been. National has been promising to close the gap with Australia, and damned if it hasn't happened already. The Nats' target was 2025, it didn't even take a year. In fact, we're now above Australia…
Post
The enormity of the disaster that has hit Haiti is becoming more apparent by the hour. It is thought that tens of thousands, if not 100,000, are dead and many more are injured, trapped, or homeless. It is estimated that 60% of buildings in the capital, Port-au-Prince, have been destroyed.…
Post
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
Post
What a start to the new year. Gerry Brownlee has admitted he's pushing for a road to be built through our most pristine National Park, Fiordland. The Southland Times reports: A long-mooted proposal for a road through pristine forest between Haast and the Hollyford Valley is…
Post
Govt drafts deal to end whaling in Antarctica - Herald Key plan to end Southern Ocean whaling - Stuff That sounds like a real break-through, I thought. What could this deal/plan be? I watched the full press conference here: "New Zealand has been working very…
Post
Less than a week before the opening of the new $80 million Supreme Court building in Wellington, Prime Minister John Key is reserving judgment on the design. Asked what he thought of the building, which has a bronze facade designed to look like pohutukawa and…
Post
Back in July of 2009 I wrote a post about John Key's promises of a plan to stop job losses. At the time I pointed out his trail of empty and unfulfilled promises and predicted that the big plan to stop job losses would be…
Post