Written By: - Date published: 5:41 pm, November 14th, 2012 - 18 comments
And so Collins’ “defamation” case against Mallard and Little ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.
Oops – doubled up posting with Eddie – read both posts!
Written By: - Date published: 4:12 pm, November 13th, 2012 - 93 comments
Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, November 13th, 2012 - 16 comments
The bunker of stupid is where you go to hide from facts you don’t like. John Key is there, hiding from the latest record unemployment figures. Joining him today is Women’s Affairs Minister Jo Goodhew, reportedly denying the rapidly increasing gender pay gap in NZ.
Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, November 13th, 2012 - 80 comments
John Key doesn’t want NZ to be a leader in the fight against climate change. Much better to be a lemming (sorry – a “fast follower”) and follow all the other lemmings off the cliff.
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, November 12th, 2012 - 62 comments
DPF is peddling a conspiracy theory that The Standard is acting on instructions for a coordinated attack on Shearer. I can see how he’d make that mistake, being used to a command and control structure for his Nat blog – but here at The Standard we don’t take orders from anyone.
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, November 12th, 2012 - 15 comments
Hekia Parata September dressed up plans for school closured and mergers in high-sounding language and pushed them hard. Hekia Parata November says that some of those plans were crazy. Which Hekia Parata should we believe?
Written By: - Date published: 12:22 pm, November 10th, 2012 - 3 comments
Jon Stewart’s Daily Show on the 7th – the day after the American elections – is a classic. Stewart is having more fun than is seemly or decent!
Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, November 10th, 2012 - 42 comments
Both John Key and David Shearer have had a bit of a pasting in the media lately. Shearer’s problems are solvable – Key’s are not…
Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, November 10th, 2012 - 5 comments
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, another doctor warns us about poverty and disease in NZ, Peter Dunne betrays his pledge to back measures that reduce poverty, and inequality in New York exposed by hurricane Sandy.
Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, November 9th, 2012 - 92 comments
Rabid Republican partisan Bill O’Reilly lamented the demise of “the white establishment” on Fox News. Take away the bitterness, prejudice, and racism, and O’Reilly is correct about some of the facts. Obama was elected by “minorities”, as predicted the Latino vote was particularly significant. Will an all white ticket win the presidential election ever again?
Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, November 8th, 2012 - 25 comments
While the professional mainstream media were all chanting in unison that the American presidential election was “too close to call”, one (famous!) blogger correctly predicted the result – for every state.
Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, November 8th, 2012 - 40 comments
Up to his neck in criticism for his batshit behaviour of late, Key petulantly complained: “I dare you to show me one example where I haven’t discharged my responsibility seriously, professionally and appropriately”. OK Standardistas – help me out here…
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, November 7th, 2012 - 54 comments
On Monday John Key admitted in an interview that Pike River Coal compromised safety for profits. On Tuesday Jon Key insisted in Parliament that such a suggestion was ridiculous. Which John Key should we believe? Can he even remember what he is saying from one day to the next? Does he care?
Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, November 6th, 2012 - 17 comments
Among the many failures of human cognition, we’re very poor at taking account of warnings of future risk and consequence. We’ve seen two particularly clear and strong examples of ignoring the warnings in NZ politics in the last two weeks. There are many other cases ongoing…
Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, November 4th, 2012 - 138 comments
Kim Dotcom is promising ultra-cheap broadband for NZ. If he pulls it off, he is going to put our local entrepreneurs to shame – not to mention our government.
Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, November 3rd, 2012 - 14 comments
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, the sad links between poverty and suicide, and Key’s response…
Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, November 2nd, 2012 - 50 comments
Buried in Audrey Young’s puff piece on Secretary of Education Lesley Longstone is an interesting insight into Longstone’s thinking on poverty and education. Longstone tries to downplay the link. Ignorance, or overt right-wing agenda?
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, November 2nd, 2012 - 20 comments
A couple of nights ago Nicky Hager gave his Bruce Jesson lecture on “Investigative journalism in the age of media meltdown: from National Party Headquarters to Afghanistan”. It is well worth a solid read, particularly his nine actions for democratic renewal.
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, November 1st, 2012 - 26 comments
Yet another thing the PM is “not responsible” for – add it to the long list. This time it is his “oversight” of the SAS. Or is Key seeking his Obama “gotcha” moment, and a political bounce from it?
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, October 31st, 2012 - 34 comments
The Secretary for Education has drawn the wrong conclusions from data on educational performance, and a bunch of commentators (including a particularly egregious anonymous editorial in The Herald) have been quick to follow. We certainly have a world class education system. The fact that not every child can take advantage of it is our real failing and our shame.
Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, October 31st, 2012 - 33 comments
If any good can ever be said to come from a natural disaster, then let the good of Sandy be its function as a clear and present wake up call. It’s a crisis, and it’s an opportunity.
Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, October 30th, 2012 - 8 comments
It is poor timing for an extension of surveillance powers. Cases where the police have flouted the law have been coming thick and fast recently. Without Ministerial oversight it has been up to the courts to provide balance, but that’s a method of last resort, and very much an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, October 29th, 2012 - 62 comments
Bugger the environment – who needs it? That’s the message from National, both domestically and internationally.
Written By: - Date published: 1:25 pm, October 28th, 2012 - 22 comments
In my opinion the MP signed their own death warrant when they allowed the split with Mana to happen. Coverage arising from their Conference paints a picture of a party in terminal decline.
Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, October 27th, 2012 - 13 comments
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, a party that wants to help, and a party that doesn’t.
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, October 26th, 2012 - 54 comments
Cuts have consequences.
Combine that with a culture where ministers are never held accountable for anything, and you have a recipe for bungling incompetence.
This National government is a very small government indeed.
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, October 25th, 2012 - 9 comments
The Maori Party has pulled its support for the latest weakening of the ETS. As usual Peter Dunne will be personally responsible for propping up the worst of the Nats’ agenda.
Written By: - Date published: 4:59 pm, October 24th, 2012 - 50 comments
Despite an apparently never-ending parade of security stuff-ups at WINZ, Paula Bennet is “not concerned”. What exactly is her job then?
Written By: - Date published: 2:03 pm, October 23rd, 2012 - 16 comments
Evidence of the supposed success of charter schools in New York is doing the rounds. Unfortunately for the right-wing ideologues, charter schools shoot themselves in both feet when they use “relaxed” assessment standards and other methods of artificially “boosting” their results.
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, October 22nd, 2012 - 38 comments
A Victoria University study shows that tax evasion is costing the country at least 25 times what welfare fraud is costing, while welfare fraud is punished more harshly in court.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, October 20th, 2012 - 18 comments
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, “International Eradication of Poverty Day”, and the tragic link between poverty and child abuse.
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