So Paula Bennett is now Minister in charge of Climate Change issues. Like everyone else I thought Simon Bridges would be given this very important portfolio. After all he is Minister for Transport and Energy and apart from agriculture these are the sectors where issues…
Yesterday Tracy Watkins gave us a classic example of the rewriting of history to suit one's agenda: Why John Key opened the door again to Judith Collins ... But it had become increasingly difficult for Key to justify keeping Collins out of Cabinet after she…
This post is essentially a distillation of two presentations given by Kevin Anderson at the Earth 101 gathering in Iceland earlier this year. You can view them here and here I highly recommend that you do as they are packed with high quality, no nonsense…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
How fitting that Audrey Young is Speaker David Carter's very last fan in the world - Labour's mini revolt smacks of pettiness. There has been one egregious error by the Speaker this term, in letting the Prime Minister get away with claims that Labour supported…
Idiot turn of phrase or deliberately inflammatory? You be the judge: Collins wants 'monster' Maori board dumped National Party MP Judith Collins has called the Auckland Council's Maori advisory board an "unaccountable monster" that thinks it's "outside the law". This is the Maori advisory board…
We've had a lot of flooding in NZ recently. We are not alone. Over the last week Chennai (Madras) has suffered badly: Thousands flee Chennai floods amid fears more rain could add to death toll Overflowing rivers and lakes pose added threats to India’s fourth…
' National Ltd™s privatisation of public education hit a snag last week after some excellent work from the Post Primary Teachers Association. It took a case to the Employment Relations Authority which has now determined that the employment of Teach First (NZ)'s largely untrained "teachers"…
PM John Key has apparently confirmed that there will be a reshuffle of cabinet announced today. Expect a promotion for Arnold Rimmer and the return of Judith Collins on the 'better in the tent pissing out' principle. It will also be worth watching to see…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Reprinted with permission from Invisiphilia's blog Rabblerave In 2006 Ben Elton wrote a novel called Chart Throb. It was a hilarious send-up of the all too familiar reality TV show series format in which little-known yet potentially talented individuals get to make their big debut. Sadly I only…
Details about the behaviour of the Malaysian Diplomat who fled the country earlier this year after being charged with attempted sexual violation and after invoking diplomatic immunity are now being revealed in Court. And they are somewhat bizarre to put it mildly. The Herald in this article…
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Hilary Benn and Maria Eagle have invoked "Labour's proud internationalism" to support their votes for bombing ISIL in Syria to keep Britain safe! As Michael Chessum points out in the LRB, this view of Labour's internationalism is statist rather than socialist. We can be proud…
On Friday, Pete George of the Your NZ blog said this. Tonight I was served with a court order notice instructing me to “take down or disable material from the blog Your NZ that mentions or identified [person’s name] or [company name], or any of…
Pepe Escobar is a writer with a sharp perspective of Eurasian affairs that you won't often read in the mainstream media. In a piece entitled "How Russia is Smashing the Turkish Game in Syria" he makes it very clear why the shoot down of Russia's…
' While the world's eyes are focused on COP21 in Paris, the laws and regulations which will actually be put in place to ameliorate climate change are being simultaneously discussed in secret at the TiSA negotiations in Geneva. The Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is an…
Good piece by Helen Clark on Huff Post: A Zero-Carbon Future Soon I will be making my way to the Paris Climate Conference where it is hoped that a new global climate change agreement will be concluded. The Paris Agreement has the potential to put…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Insecure, insufficient and adulterated food supplies are set to become one of the major problems of the 21st century, causing societal upheaval and discontent. In Egypt and Syria, they were central elements which helped to foment revolution. In Tahrir Square, masses of anti-government protesters chanted,…
Good on ya Andrew Little: Andrew Little takes on skydive for kea conservation launch ... Mr Little will do a tandem skydive from 19,000 feet above the Franz Josef Glacier to help launch a new kea conservation programme promoted by Skydive Franz and the Kea…
UK Labour MP Hilary Benn has given a powerful, compelling speech in favour of air strikes in Syria. He put the case far better than the hopeless Tory leader David Cameron, who had early alienated potential support from Labour MP's with a stupid sound bite…
As if flying heavily pregnant sheep to a farm situated in the middle of a Saudi desert and paying $4 million dollars to settle a legal dispute that did not exist was not enough. Now the Government is gifting a $2.6 million kit set abattoir…
' Protege of the Simon Lusk School Of Politics, National Ltd™'s Sam Lotu-Iiga, was back in the House this week. Explaining. Again. As Corrections Minister, Lotu-Iiga was facing questions about SERCO dropping from first to last place on the most recent Prison Performance Table. Was SERCO's first place position…
Gareth Morgan is an interesting commentator, a businessman that gets climate change. He's written two good posts on his blog in the last few days. Probably best to take them in order, starting with: Six Ways the Government has exaggerated the cost of meeting climate…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
I don't have great hopes for the climate talks in Paris, where the world's rich countries (like NZ) are still disgracing themselves. I have no hope at all for NZ under National, which is still stuck in a stupid fossil fuel mentality. I do have…