Kremlin Killers?
UK Police have named the two Russian spies accused of the Novichok poisonings. But what can Britain do about it?
Economy
class war
Remembering Chris Morley
On Friday 27 July 2018, Wellington Tramways Union Vice President Chris Morley passed away after a short battle with Cancer, aged 62. Chris had been […]
Period. End. Done.
The Scottish government has just taken a massive step to eradicate period poverty. Why not here?
Turnbull out, Morrison In?
Turnbull out, Morrison or Dutton in? The Australian Liberal Party self flagellation continues in Canberra. Updates as they roll in, cobbers.
UPDATE: Malcolm Turnbull calls press conference at 1PM AEST (3PM in NZ)
UPDATE: Turnbull to quit tomorrow, if ballot called.
UPDATE: Julie Bishop prepares bid.
UPDATE: Scott Morrison wins, Dutton defeated 45-40.
The Greens. Do We Need ’em?
What’s the point of the Green party? Do we really need them? Really?
Bludger Bridges
Simon Bridges has blown over $100k of your money in just three months, tiki touring around the country at the taxpayers expense. Nice work if you can get it!
Update: A Shark Jumps Matthew Hooton. Live on Twitter!
Propaganda Wars.
No-one reading this blog would willfully offer support to an ideology that’s killing people, right?
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.
The Pied Piper
If we’re living in a global village, is the name of the village Hamelin?
Just a quick thought…
Yeah, okay, it’s a couple of thoughts on the Canadian jokers and what is and isn’t happening in response to their stuff.
Nurses.
There’s a sickness affecting our health system.
And We’ll be Reich Back …
The Southern/Molyneux hatefest is back on.
Трамп; проследить за деньгами!
Is Donald Trump’s grovelling to Vladimir Putin in Helsinki proof that he is some how fatally compromised or even a long term Russian intelligence asset? There seems to be growing suspicion that it’s Moscow gold not golden showers that’s at the heart of the American President’s Putin problem.
A right, Left problem
A post suggesting that the traditional descriptive lens of “left and right” isn’t up to capturing current political realities.
Scrap the spending cap
Economist Ganesh Nana and Alan Johnson from the Salvation Army have urged the Government to relax the fiscal straight jacket imposed by its budget responsibility rules.
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.
Alt Reich Speakers get Visas; still lack Empathy, Compassion and Humanity
Two Canadian far right bigots have been granted visas to visit NZ. Let’s make them wish they’d never left Canada, eh.
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.
Glenn Greenwald on…
Excerpts from Glenn Greenwald speaking on Democracy Now! (h/t Adrian Thornton)
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.
Families Package and Auckland Regional Fuel tax kick in
Labour’s Family Package and the Auckland Regional Fuel tax have both kicked in.
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?
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.
Who Really is Judging the Poor?
Some conversations about poverty are harming those in need. Those conversations contribute to the stigma and shame experienced by struggling families, who are barely surviving, but still trying to maintain some dignity. As a result even those in need are differentiating between the deserving and undeserving poor.
Strange Democracy.
Quietly mulling on the difference between foreign interference (malign) and influence (benign).
Gluckman: Methamphetamine policy was a crock
The Prime Minister’s chief science adviser Peter Gluckman has described the previous Government’s policy on methamphetamine in Housing Corp houses as hysterical and concluded that there has never been a documented case of someone getting sick from third-hand exposure to methamphetamine.
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.
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.
No Iran Israeli War.
In spite of all the sharp intakes of breathe going on across media outlets, there will be no war between Iran and Israel. Here’s why.
Rogue Nation(s)
Just some thoughts that kind of meandered down to the ocean.