Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, May 30th, 2015 - 47 comments
Rachel Stewart’s piece should be required reading for anyone who cares about New Zealand.
Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, May 19th, 2015 - 198 comments
John Banks has been acquitted of electoral fraud and his re-trial has been abandoned. Kim Dotcom has once again failed to follow through. Banks vs Goff in next year’s mayoralty race?
Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, May 12th, 2015 - 308 comments
Giovanni Tiso has discovered that Cactus Kate’s blog is slowly disappearing from the Internet.
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, May 8th, 2015 - 45 comments
From the I kid you not files Mike Hosking believes that Auckland Council is to blame for the housing crisis, not immigration, not favourable tax conditions for landlords, not the global financial crisis and not the lack of restrictions on home ownership. And he believes that Nick Smith should step in and Roll Auckland Council.
Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, March 11th, 2015 - 40 comments
A further piece on the peoples’ revolution within Northern Syria.
Written By: - Date published: 4:54 pm, March 9th, 2015 - 42 comments
A short case study of the kind of mainstream media reporting that drives me nuts!
Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, March 6th, 2015 - 13 comments
The lies and media pap being distributed for public consumption by the boys down at “The Club” are old and worn out now. Politicians, public commentators, and media heads who really think they can get away with this flimsy “rinse and repeat” justification of the indefensible are treated us with contempt.
Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, February 25th, 2015 - 109 comments
The first three speeches from yesterdays session in Parliament on sending troops to Iraq – John Key, Andrew Little, Russel Norman. Little’s speech is cogent, Norman’s is brilliant.
Written By: - Date published: 2:56 pm, February 14th, 2015 - 47 comments
So much to sell, so little time… When this Government is finished selling, we will have sold our right to make laws for ourselves too. Be under no doubt, if the effect of bringing in a law for the health and well being of Kiwis will cost a corporate millions of dollars, part of their lobbying after the TPP, will be threatening to sue the taxpayers of NZ and watch such a Bill slip into obscurity. And those corporates wielding that power? Most will never pay a cent of tax into the coffers of NZ taxpayers.
Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, February 11th, 2015 - 63 comments
It seems that just as the 30’s offered the chance to turn dreams into reality, Syria is offering that chance up to ‘the left’ today. Suddenly, for me, the recent travel bans and the passport confiscation laws etc make sense since we are potentially looking at an international influx of non-nutters and non- psychopaths as happened during the Spanish Revolution of the 30s.
Written By: - Date published: 7:32 pm, February 9th, 2015 - 53 comments
Leaving Mike Sabin in charge of the Law and Order Select Committee was certainly a captain’s call by John Key. Just like Tony Abbott’s award of a knighthood to the Duke (as if he needed more fruit salad), this was a judgment call. And it does call Key’s judgment into question. It’s not about when he knew what he knew, it’s about what he did when he knew.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, January 31st, 2015 - 293 comments
The final word in this week’s debate about freedom of expression should be left to Eleanor Catton.
Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, January 14th, 2015 - 27 comments
An excellent piece by Dame Anne Salmond in the Dominion Post yesterday. Salmond reviews the government’s attacks on journalists, institutions and privacy.
Written By: - Date published: 3:43 pm, January 13th, 2015 - 64 comments
The self righteousness of the leaders who marched in Paris was there for all to see, but few in the media decry and point out the hypocrisy. How smug the World leaders feel, marching for freedom of expression and the media which they largely control and use for their political purposes. So who will speak […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:07 pm, January 11th, 2015 - 223 comments
You’d think that with all the WW1 commemorations going on at the moment it would make us more vigilant about our freedom and security, not sleep-walking towards another Holy Crusade (in the name of the God of Money and Father of Fossil Fuels), seduced by slick liars and the gods of commercialism and greed.
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, January 8th, 2015 - 596 comments
It is a shocking story to wake up to. A murderous act in a beautiful city. Condolences to those close to the people who were killed, and to the people of Paris and France. It is not a justification for the anti-democratic, invasive extensions to the surveillance state.
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, December 22nd, 2014 - 33 comments
A new report shows that Steven Joyce’s MBIE fiefdom is failing miserably. Meanwhile the MBIE is under fire for the major cost blow out of the Sky City Casino deal – another deal with Joyce’s imprints all over it.
Written By: - Date published: 4:18 pm, December 11th, 2014 - 55 comments
New author Mandy Hager joins us with some reflections on having become a grandmother: “So that’s why I’m speaking out now, every opportunity I get. Not because I like the exposure (shudder), but because I love this tiny little person and I will fight for his future, come what may. It’s the right thing to do. …”
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, November 27th, 2014 - 6 comments
The stage was long ago reached where members of the US Government were told they should “wear their sponsors logo’s on their shirts”.
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, November 27th, 2014 - 13 comments
I/S at No Right Turn yesterday: “Yes, that’s right. An important bill with major human rights implications, and we have one day to speak up about it.” I/S supplies a submission guide to make it easy…
Written By: - Date published: 5:15 pm, November 8th, 2014 - 129 comments
Thousands of people protested and marched around the country against the secret and anti-democratic TPPA negotiations. Reports & pics. Updated
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, November 5th, 2014 - 102 comments
Metiria Turei delivered a very strong speech in response to Key’s ministerial statement on national security. I give her a standing ovation! Update #1: link to video of Turei’s speech. #2 -YT video Turei’s speech. Link to Kennedy Garham’s speech
Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, October 21st, 2014 - 46 comments
When Gough Whitlam was PM of Austrialia, it was a time when people were looking forward to a more inclusive, caring, and egalitarian society: a time of hope. His PM-ship ended in controversy.
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, October 19th, 2014 - 63 comments
Some journalists continue to try to fulfill the fourth estate ideal of pursuing truth & speaking truth to power. Others, with powerful links to corporate media & governments, work to suppress debate and democracy, often using threats, abusive nastiness & fear mongering.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, October 18th, 2014 - 15 comments
I/S at No Right Turn on how “the TPPA would criminalise investigative journalism”.
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, October 11th, 2014 - 33 comments
Fran O’Sullivan’s column in the Herald today clearly lays out why the issues surrounding Hanover Finance’s collapse should be investigated by the Police and not by a Government inquiry.
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, October 6th, 2014 - 15 comments
With Chris Finlayson just announced as minister in charge of GCSB & SIS, I thought it appropriate to re-post something I published on The Standard back in July 2013: links 5 Eyes’ attorney generals, cyber-security, Dotcom, etc.
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, October 3rd, 2014 - 28 comments
A quiet shift in a dodgy Key govt-SkyCity deal: TVNZ land, sold to SkyCity for its convention centre, is to be used for a new hotel. Plus: non-mandated deal between Auckland Transport Authority & a US corporate – intense surveillance of Aucklanders’ diverse activities.
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, September 30th, 2014 - 71 comments
Cameron Slater has capitulated and ended his case against various media organisations. He faces the prospect of a significant award of costs against him. There is now no restriction on the media using the Rawshark dumps the media have been apparently provided with. So far nothing has been published. Why the delay?
Written By: - Date published: 2:01 pm, September 29th, 2014 - 75 comments
Some thoughts from a different angle on ‘what went wrong’, or maybe just saying stuff along the lines of what plenty of other people are thinking
Written By: - Date published: 5:32 pm, September 23rd, 2014 - 171 comments
No one should begrudge John Key and the National party the right to celebrate an impressive election victory. It is little consolation to those who opposed them that the win is very much a personal triumph for the Prime Minister rather than for the party and government he leads. As the tumult and the shouting […]
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