A Thousand Words
…in a single graph.
Economy
capitalism
Propaganda Wars.
No-one reading this blog would willfully offer support to an ideology that’s killing people, right?
Who protects us from water companies?
New Zealand seriously needs a water regulator. Something that will show that each catchment can withstand having that much taken out of it, and that it is being sold for a fair price, and ensures everyone has access to beautiful-quality water.
We need more radicals coming here
We need more radical voices again here. But it’s like MMP has turned us once again into the passionless people. It always looks like “hate speech” when you hate it.
Guest post: The end of Neoliberalism – What went wrong?
The Left predicted the death of neoliberalism after the global financial crisis of 2008. But since then inequality has increased and new right nationalism is on the ascendancy. How should the left respond?
The Pied Piper
If we’re living in a global village, is the name of the village Hamelin?
Let them fall
We’ve seen a fair few construction companies go under or get close to it recently.
Corporatism.
Hand in hand with “compassionate liberalism”.
A right, Left problem
A post suggesting that the traditional descriptive lens of “left and right” isn’t up to capturing current political realities.
Brexiting the EU
In the United Kingdom Theresa May is facing a confidence threatening Brexit crisis, the organisers of the Vote Leave campaign are facing prosecution, and an opinion poll suggests that a significant proportion of the electorate are willing to shift right to achieve a hard Brexit.
The UN is shocked by NZ’s child poverty rates
Earlier this year the United Nations expressed shock and concern at New Zealand’s rates of child poverty, homelessness, incarceration and violence. What is this Government doing to address these issues?
Julian Assange; Journey’s End?
Is Julian Assange about to be arrested? Equador looks set to evict the accused rapist and capitalist tool from its London embassy.
Government with a plan
The polls are great. Top work. But I’m getting worried about the entropy of this government already. Matthew Hooten and Karl Marx agree with me.
My Little Eye…
Something beginning with…wtf?!
Is Matthew Hooton becoming a socialist?
Occasional Standard reader Matthew Hooton has written a cogent column on industrial relations in which he realises and accepts that wages for ordinary workers are too low.
In Short…
A post puzzling over our collective state of mind in the face of incredible danger and suggesting the only course of action we can take. Covering our eyes and blocking our ears isn’t it.
There’s No Such Thing as Free Speech
There’s never been Free Speech and that’s not actually much of a problem according to Te Reo Putake, who is no stranger to the downside of Saying Things.
Progress.
I don’t pay much attention to news channels these days, and realise this will have been all over the place in the shape of headlines and lead stories. So I’m sorry for simply echoing that which is already being amplified, but hey…
Smile!
The extent and limits of current politics.
Apparently Labour was to blame for the global financial crisis
These sorts of debates do my head in. Essentially because they are so removed from reality that anyone with any sense would know […]
Arses and Elbows
Deserving workers and undeserving workers in the public service.
updated
Flying Kites.
If we can’t see the wood for the trees, shouldn’t we simply step back a bit and look again?
A Question from a Room.
Take a look around the room you’re in. Or if you’re out and about and reading this on some mobile device, then take a look around the next room you enter. Closely.
Let’s Build a Hospital!
…on reclaimed land. (Dunedin) – because water features are nice things to have.
Liberalism Uber Alles
If the political class think liberalism has failed, then why is it that the process of killing off NZ Post is approaching completion?
New World Disorder.
Liberalism was meant to be the New World Order and even (so the briefly celebrated Fukiyama reckoned anyway) an End to History. Big stuff then. But it seems the placid and complacent consensus is fraying round the edges.
Killing Them Softly With…
In New Zealand there is sufficient evidence to show that poor peoples’ lives are cut short because of poverty related poor nutrition. While food banks are alleviating the worst impacts of hunger, their kindness may well be contributing to the problem. Food poverty is a systemic issue and requires a systemic response, a response that successive governments are able to avoid while charities continue to provide a buffer for the system.
Is it OK to bring a hand grenade to a business meeting?
Darien Fenton writes about Business New Zealand’s early approach to the Fair Pay panel.
Forward to the 70s
National thinks that getting back to full employment, having wages and conditions sufficient to allow a working family to live in decency on one full time wage, and home ownership rates of about 70% are a bad thing.
Steaming cow poo.
Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth according to a Guardian headline.
Yeah. No it’s not.
Comrade Simon supports Nurses Strike
For the first time possibly ever a National leader has supported the right of the rank and file to engage in industrial action to improve their living conditions.
Why is Mark Richardson such a Nimby and …?
Being a nimby is the least of Mark Richardson’s problems. His disguised hate speech is harmful to his victims and anyone else in need of help who are left feeling the shame imposed upon them by such careless dialogue.
Deep Trawling.
Is NZ’s fishing industry just a domestic version of the tobacco companies? And how much would that really matter?
Call for Royal Commission into Banking
Sam Stubbs, a longstanding outspoken commentator in New Zealand’s financial industry, continues to advocate for a Royal Commission into banking and insurance.
Fudget for Austerity
Some proposals on why we just got the budget we did.
Squeeze
This is as good a year as it is going to get to squeeze your employer for a fair wage.