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Great news from Egypt: Hosni Mubarak has resigned. As I said a couple of week ago, Mubarak's days were numbered when the army didn't crush the protests against him. If you don't control a monopoly on violence that you can exercise to eliminate threats, you're…
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Key: So, Gillard's coming. Are we talking about a single economic zone? Groser: Umm. Not exactly. You're talking about mobile roaming charges. Key: Christ, Tim. We're really racking up wins for Kiwi exporters here, aren't we? Captain Panicpants: Your numbers with women are down over…
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The government is pleading poverty thanks to the tax cuts for the rich (and even though government debt is under control). This is their excuse for welfare and spending cuts and asset sales. This is shown to be pure spin by the fact that they're…
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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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Last week I was moaning about the Department of Internal Affairs processes harvesting our site and causing excessive CPU loads. What annoyed me more than anything else was that the webpage listed was invalid. Normally, I'd have just killed access for the processes to the…
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Why do the protesters still demand that Mubarak leave the country before they leave Tahrir Square? The answer is simple To leave the square with Mubarak still in power will be to suffer detention and torture, and with tensions so high, probably deaths. The protesters…
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Skeptical Science has posted a very interesting video with Dr. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg on climate science in the oceans. The oceans have been buffering the effects of CO2 emissions. However the oceans are also showing the most immediate effects from the changes in water temperatures and acidity.…
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The nice thing about David Bennett is he says what other Nats are smart enough to keep quiet. Remember his rant against the minimum wage? But he out did himself with his speech defending the appalling record of the National government. It turns out the…
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Wednesday, Farrar posts a link to a new blog, 'Whowuddathort', running Goff smears and Key-love. That evening, 'someone' posts a comment: "National Research Unit material, anyone?" Thursday, another comment: "is fisking the standard parliamentary business? Minutes later: Whowuddathort' blog disappears.
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The Nats regard parliamentary process as an inconvenience to which they must pay lip service, but nothing more. They started as soon as they took office, with repeated abuse of the mechanism of urgency. As early as December 2008 even their fans at The Herald…
democracy under attack foreshore and seabed national Parliament
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Well, I think Brian Fallow has put the nails in the coffin of the Nats' privatisation arguments. His column goes through each of the excuses that National has come up with for selling the family silver and none of them stack up. "Reducing borrowing the…
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This important press release on the Trans Pacific Partnership deserves to be a post, because: 1# This is the biggest attack on our nation's sovereignty by multinational investors since the MAI was defeated. 2# In any dispute between foreign investors and the state the TPP…
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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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Jami-Lee Ross is running from having any debate with his opponent in the Botany. Michael Wood was meant to meet face off with him on Triangle TV, but he pulled out at the last minute. He's challenged him to any debate in general and has…
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Key proved himself bereft of ideas with his speech on Tuesday, and on Wednesday he showed himself to be out of touch. As you know, Key has voted himself $23,000 of tax cuts on his PM salary alone. Labour estimates another $60,000 on his investments…
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8,000 more unemployed in the last quarter of last year, and another 1,000 on the dole in January. New Zealand headed to a douple-dip recession the rest of the world isn't seeing, after a year of anaemic (below population) growth. An average wage rise in…
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English says our public assets won't get as high returns if sold as they have been recently English says our public assets haven't been getting high enough returns and we'll get more if we sell some Fran O'Sullivan against asset sales that undermine our economic…
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Bill English is finance minister for what is looking increasingly like the most useless do-nothing NZ government in living memory. The double dipper from Dipton is leading us in to what looks more and more like a double dip recession. Unemployment is up. Benefit numbers…
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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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John Key has taken a swing at Kiwi workers who have lost their jobs thanks to the bankers' recession and his economic mis-management. Key claims people are choosing to be long-term beneficiaries "even though work is available to them". But the jobs aren't there and…
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In this post, I've embedded the speeches from John Key, Phil Goff, and Metiria Turei during yesterday's first day of Parliament. Key presents no new vision, just an agenda of cuts and false statistics couple with sheer delusion about his government's record. Goff tears him…
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John Key has obviously been stung by the surge of negative publicity generated by the TV3 piece on the residents of McGehan Close. Nothing like a quick reality check to expose the lie that National has any concern for "the underclass". And because John Key…
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Key's line was pure spin. An attempt to cover a shockingly poor economic record with fairytale statistics. Here's John Armstrong doing what Key hoped he would - regurgitate the line unchecked: "Key also produces figures to show the price of goods and services has risen…
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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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John Key's government is just two years old but it is already clearly bereft of ideas. His lacklustre speech yesterday showed no innovative thinking. There was just his usual bile directed at Labour and the same old failed National formula: asset sales, welfare cuts, and…
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There are some interesting legal and constitutional parallels between the Maori party's attempts to rid themselves of Hone Harawira and previous unsuccessful attempts in Tainui to have their Kauhanganui chair dismissed for raising awkward questions about use of tribal finances. Tukoroirangi Morgan was a key…
democratic participation Maori Issues maori party privatisation
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I get frustrated with the right claiming "Nanny State" on everything (except when it's them banning cell-phones when driving etc). So it was with interest I read famous philosopher Alain de Botton's piece on the BBC yesterday: In defence of the nanny state. As he…
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The kneejerk righties have praised John Key's plan to sell our public assets (indeed, the Herald seems to be calling for something far more radical in today's editorial) but all the substantive analysis of the proposal continues to show it's an ideologically-driven rip-off. Here's Geoff…
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I noted with interest National Party pollster David Farrar's post yesterday that said, in essence: "Key would give the Maori Party leaders a ministerial bauble, a seat in the limo. What would a Labour government offer?" To which the obvious response is that Labour would…
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So the Nats have upped the minimum wage by 25 cents. An increase of 1.9% that doesn't even keep up with inflation of 4% and is thus a minimum wage cut. Just like last year. Way to close the wage gap with Australia John! Not.…