Still in Denial.
General Tim Keating’s resignation.
Politics
Abuse of power
This is extremely dangerous to our democracy
Make of this what you will.
Love war, fear and hate.
Political power doesn’t respond well when those who are meant to be invisible decide to be visible.
Finlayson found to have breached Dotcom’s rights
The Human Rights Tribunal has found that the last Government and Chris Finlayson breached Kim Dotcom’s rights in not providing him with information requested by him. And awarded him $90,000 for the breach.
Facebook is in trouble
A whistleblower, Christopher Wyllie, has explained how Cambridge Analytica managed to secure the data of 50 million Americans and how it was used in the last US Presidential election.
Sanctions. Weapons of War.
When elite’s tussle, shouldn’t we look after us and ours?
#MeToo
It’s been awesome to see feminist activists in New Zealand enable a new and fast liberation occur. It’s worth reflecting on the success of #MeToo and all its new forms.
Nicky Hager: Defence admits raid was located in same area as described in Hit and Run
“I believe that the impulse to hide the NZDF’s mistakes led the Chief of Defence Force knowingly to mislead the media and the public.”
Ardern bans government departments from using private investigator to surveil NZers
“Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has banned all Government departments from using a firm of private investigators for spying.”
Reports from the TPPA protests this week (and please sign the petition)
The message coming out is hold the line, sign the petition, regroup, and protest on Thurs the 8th, the day Labour puts our name to the agreement.
Joyce stands down as National struggles to find new leader *
* in Australia.
Mueller v Russia
Robert Mueller has laid an indictment alleging that thirteen Russians and three Russian entities illegally interfered with the 2016 American Election campaign.
TPPA-11 update and actions
The TPPA-11 is set to be signed on March 8. There are still huge problems with the agreement for NZ. Jane Kelsey provides an update.
Middle east Teenagers
In the middle east a Palestinian teenager is detained for a minor assault and for protesting the occupation of her country. And three Israeli teenagers are apparently trying to sue two New Zealand residents for exercising their rights of free speech.
NRT: Spain refuses to respect Catalonia’s election.
Idiot/savant on Spain’s love of democracy.
Up in Smoke.
US reverses Federal marijuana stance.
“We are never asking for it”
Solidarity with Madeline Anello Kitzmiller.
Israel fights back
In what may be the first of a number of publicity stunts Rabbi Shmulay Boteach has placed a full page advertisement in the Washington Post condemning Lorde and New Zealand for showing solidarity with Palestine.
Moving on after FJK
One year after resigning as Prime Minister and nine months since leaving parliament, a look at FJK’s fine legacy.
Shaking the Tree
When an apple tree is shaken, pips can fall to the ground and germinate. And then things grow back more or less as before.
Voltairine de Cleyre
When history buries treasures, those treasures don’t have to remain buried.
Twyford reverses National’s flawed methamphetamine housing policy
Phil Twyford has shown this new Government has a brain as well as a heart by halting National’s ridiculous state house methamphetamine policy where the presence of minuscule traces would result in eviction even though there was no proof the tenant was responsible and he has apologised to Robert Erueti for the harm caused.
Trump trashes chance of Middle East peace for giggles and a diversion
Donald Trump is expected to controversially announce the movement of the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Making official Information flow again
“Ministers realised they had a device through which they could reduce the surprises they suffered. And, as it went on, the surprises ministers no longer wanted to experience became greater in number and smaller in significance.Increasingly, it placed on the public service a political imperative which it had never had to shoulder. “
Flynn cuts a deal while Trump scrambles
Donald Trump’s response to news of the arrest of Michael Flynn suggests that charges closer to the office of the President may be close.
Deranged Golriz Syndrome
David Farrar has continued his crusade against Golriz Ghahraman with a claim of 15 instances where she has by implication deceived us.
Key and Mass Surveillance: Was this the reason for the Golriz distraction?
David Fisher has written an in-depth article for the Herald that suggests that John Key’s promise, three years ago, that the Government had cancelled the Speargun project which would have allowed for the mass surveillance of New Zealanders was not actually correct.
Appalling men and great art
There have been some great artists face some appalling allegations. Would they have been as successful if their great crimes had been exposed?
National spams the Beehive
National has been clogging Parliament’s written question system by asking questions that even David Farrar thinks seem silly and are over the top.
Mugabe hangs on
Despite expectations to the contrary Robert Mugabe has refused to resign as leader of Zimbabwe.
TPP, Corporate Coup or “Free trade”?
However. TPP ( The trans Pacific partnership) is NOT a “Free trade” agreement. It is an attempt to cement in corporate power, to override inconvenient local Democracy, and collect rents from local communities in perpetuity.
Since when was giving large companies extra rights in law, and rights to extract even more economic rents, “Free trade”?
Justice for Teina Pora
Andrew Little has announced that the Government will increase the payout to Teina Pora by adjusting for inflation and by paying costs on Pora’s successful judicial review of the previous Government’s decision.
Suck it up political sleazers.
Winston Peters has launched a legal fishing expedition to identify who exactly breached privacy on his superannuation over payments. A problem that he shares with about 50 thousand other pensioners. Unlike them, his problem wasn’t trying to find money to repay it. It was that the breach was deliberately timed to be a classic dirty politics ploy, almost certainly by National, in the leadup to the recent election. I wish him good fishing.
NRT: About time too
Idiot/savant writes about Labour’s legislation to extend paid parental leave.
National reverts to type
Bill English has claimed that it is not the role of National to make Parliament run properly.
The repeal of the Hobbit law
Labour has indicated that as a priority it wishes to repeal the Hobbit law, a clumsy attempt in breach of International Law to prevent workers in the film industry from organising collectively and to divert attention from the fact that the National Government had been played by Warner Brothers.