The Standard

Author Archive

Irene sounds yet another warning

Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, August 30th, 2011 - 53 comments

Irene is yet another example of the significant increase in extreme weather that we’re seeing all around the globe.  But this warning will be ignored like all the rest.

Not the ACT party list

Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, August 29th, 2011 - 38 comments

I was going to do a post on the ACT party list.  But then I realised that I just don’t care.

In praise of collective bargaining

Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, August 29th, 2011 - 75 comments

One of the lies at the heart of the Nats’ approach to industrial relations is that negotiating directly with the employer “empowers” the individual worker and allows them to get better wages and conditions.  The facts prove otherwise.

Revolution and hunger

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, August 28th, 2011 - 44 comments

What provokes a populace to take to the streets in violent uprising?  Is it the inexorable power of a demand for justice and democracy?  Or is it something much simpler than that…

Suicide and community

Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, August 27th, 2011 - 67 comments

Following the release of data by the Chief Coroner, suicide is once again getting some time in the headlines.  Coincidentally, news from Christchurch supports the suggestion that stronger communities reduce suicide rates.

We are all socialists now

Written By: - Date published: 9:09 am, August 27th, 2011 - 64 comments

According to John Key all New Zealanders have a socialist streak.  But wait, there’s more…

Extraordinary attack on Maori Party

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, August 26th, 2011 - 8 comments

Waihoroi Shortland, the Maori Party candidate in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate, has been warned to “Watch your back, lest it be bitten by the Maori Party dogs”.  An extraordinary warning from an extraordinary source…

Freedom and security

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, August 25th, 2011 - 30 comments

The government is planning a crack down on “organised crime”.  What could possibly be wrong with that?

Substance vs style

Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, August 24th, 2011 - 75 comments

A couple of polls have now confirmed that on key issues voters prefer Labour policy over National.  When push comes to shove in November, will Kiwis vote for the style that they like, or the substance that they want?

Only 56%?

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, August 23rd, 2011 - 55 comments

According to one poll 56 percent of Labour voters say Labour won’t win.  Good on them I say.

Democracy at its finest

Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, August 22nd, 2011 - 24 comments

Seems like Key isn’t interested in listening to Christchurch quake victims.

Labour up in Colmar Brunton

Written By: - Date published: 6:42 pm, August 21st, 2011 - 57 comments

Good to see Labour up 3% in the latest TV1 / Colmar Brunton poll.

Seeds of hope

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, August 21st, 2011 - 20 comments

This is the kind of innovation and intelligence that we are going to need in abundance to survive the medium to long term future…

Getting to know Goff 2

Written By: - Date published: 3:55 pm, August 20th, 2011 - 15 comments

Today Part 2 of The Herald’s profile of Phil Goff is out, and once again it’s a very interesting read.  It debunks some of the spin surrounding Goff’s ideology and the  Lange / Douglas government.

Time for the Robin Hood tax!

Written By: - Date published: 8:22 am, August 20th, 2011 - 21 comments

France and Germany are leading the way on the “Robin Hood” tax, and a Europe wide implementation could be the next step.  Bring it on!

Joyce to roll Key!

Written By: - Date published: 3:38 pm, August 19th, 2011 - 81 comments

Hey!  Psssst!  Here’s a hot one!  I hear via the tipsy line that Joyce has been doing the numbers and is ready to roll Key!  It should all go down at a BBQ some time this weekend…

Bennett and Key at odds?

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 19th, 2011 - 60 comments

Bennett and Key are divided in their opinions and their stats, but at least they’re united in their state of denial.

Inciting a riot

Written By: - Date published: 11:20 am, August 18th, 2011 - 46 comments

Cases being tried in England raise the question – what is an appropriate punishment for inciting a riot on Facebook?

Tolley’s delusions of relevance

Written By: - Date published: 1:55 pm, August 17th, 2011 - 53 comments

More and more schools are standing up and saying No to national standards.  Naturally, Tolley thinks it’s all about her.

Epic fail

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, August 16th, 2011 - 64 comments

Like most of us, Fran O’Sullivan was expecting so much more from the Nats at their conference…

Q+A interview – Key still lying

Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, August 15th, 2011 - 61 comments

A better than usual interview of John Key by Guyon Espiner on Sundays Q+A.  On the plus side Espiner was raising some serious issues. On the minus he let Key get away with his usual lies and evasions.

No news is no news

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, August 13th, 2011 - 6 comments

Very little change over the last three Roy Morgan polls.  Which suggests to me that voters still aren’t really paying attention.

Is anyone else thinking…

Written By: - Date published: 5:48 pm, August 12th, 2011 - 53 comments

It seems that the US has lost an experimental hypersonic space plane.  Is anyone else thinking what I’m thinking?

The new Christchurch

Written By: - Date published: 9:29 am, August 12th, 2011 - 36 comments

The first hints of the plans for the new Christchurch are out.  What do you reckon?

In search of a justification

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, August 12th, 2011 - 122 comments

Farrar and others of the Right push for ever lower taxes, but their arguments are laughably flimsy.  Tax cuts don’t raise revenue.  Tax cuts don’t cause growth.  In search of their  “superior moral justification for selfishness” the Right are going to have to do a lot better than that…

Welfare fraud and reform

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, August 11th, 2011 - 58 comments

National will keep demonising the most vulnerable members of society for electoral gain, while turning a blind eye to much bigger problems.

Racial profiling for the RWC

Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, August 10th, 2011 - 27 comments

Lots of countries have daft old laws still on the books.  Not many countries drag out these relics and start applying them again.

Turia knows the Maori Party is toast

Written By: - Date published: 12:42 pm, August 9th, 2011 - 48 comments

The Maori Party leaders have racked up the highest ministerial expenses after the PM – despite not being in Cabinet.  What is even more extraordinary is Tariana Turia’s response to being questioned on this.

London riots

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, August 9th, 2011 - 201 comments

There have been two nights of rioting, looting and burning in London.  The trigger was the police shooting of Mark Duggan.  But the cause is the alienation of the permanent underclass, and the stresses of the current austerity programme.

Talk is cheap

Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, August 8th, 2011 - 34 comments

Grieving families of Christchurch earthquake victims say that John Key has broken his promise to them.  Key is refusing to even comment on the nature of the meeting.  This must all sound very familiar to the families of the Pike River miners.

Mana vs. Maori

Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, August 7th, 2011 - 49 comments

Like the American debt limit deal, I always thought that Mana and Maori would find some kind of bloody compromise at the eleventh hour.  But they’ve passed the point of no return now.