It has been ironic at our media frenzy on political ‘donations’. I suspect that our legal structure has been setup for bribing politicians with ‘donations’. Let us just make all politicians and donors guilty until proven innocent of false reporting of ‘donations’. It’d be more interesting than the current farce. Start with Simon Bridges – currently still under investigation by the SFO.
Nick Kelly summaries the lack of compassion shown by Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg during this weeks UK election campaign.
Jacinda Ardern’s campaign against harmful social media has had an effect with Twitter deciding to ban political advertising on the grounds that internet advertising brings significant risks to politics.
Craig Murray reports on the horror of Julian Assange’s treatment by British so-called “justice.” Read it and don’t weep. You can see why Murray resigned from the UK foreign service; their diplomacy is just as bad.
Amid calls to install online voting from the technologically illiterate who are appear to be unaware of the risks, there is clear disagreement from those who do know the risks. Politicians should listen to them. While postal voting is an expensive and failing system, online voting as a system is certain to be way worse.
Occasionally, this site puts up a video from parliament. Probably happens a few times per month at best. Not a whole lot of interest. It is put up for the public to observe parliament when required. While it’d be fun to make clips mocking National politicians – why should the public pay to provide feedstock for juveniles to do that? Either have and follow the simple rules similar to every other content provider or shut down parliamentary TV.
National has recently had two different advertisements ruled misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority.
I was joyful to see that the San Francisco board of supervisors has declared what I have long thought; that the National Rifle Association in America has for many years been acting as a terrorist organisation. We should add them to our register of terrorist organisations as well.
Heather du Plessis Allan has concluded that National was responsible for leaking details about Winston Peters superannuation overpayment. And believes that it was business as usual for National.
I’ve just been reading the decision by the IPCA on their botched and blatantly political searches on Nicky Hager. But there is a more serious problem. The police appear to be technically and legally incapable of enforcing our 2002 legislation about computer crimes. Perhaps a specialist office like the SFO who can garner the skills to deal with it – without political linkages being an issue.
Matthew Hooton has a piece on National’s chances in the next election this morning entitled as “National stumbling to defeat”. Personally I think he is a PR weasel who is on the border to dirty politics. But he did cover the salient points that will be on the mind of the National party conference.
Republican State Senators in the state of Oregon have headed for the hills and are being protected by a local nut job militia in an effort to thwart the democratically elected majority from doing passing a law to address climate change.
National is still embedded in Dirty Politics.
In what is possibly a first ever occurrence the Standard is publishing a post in praise of Judith Collins for standing up for Green MP Golriz Ghahraman.
The government has been rightly lauded for swiftly acting to ban assault weapons after the Christchurch massacre, but is its failure to decisively call social media giants to order just as weak and unacceptable as the failure to act on Aramoana massacre back in 1990?
Newshub has revealed that Jacinda Ardern instructed her ministers not tp publicly discuss National’s problems with Jami-Lee Ross.
There is a classic piece of waffle in the NZ Herald about when capital gains tax will apply to the family home. But the conditions when this applies are extremely simple and obvious. However professed experts on taxation like the so-called ‘taxpayers union’ can’t understand them. Probably because they are paid not to.
John Tamihere has been endorsed by Jordan Williams for Auckland’s mayoralty. And his campaign has commissioned the Taxpayers Union to do a cost cutting exercise.
Matt Blomfield has obtained judgment in his long running defamation case against Cameron Slater.
The Trump shutdown is over, as the doofus President waves the white flag. And in Florida, his trusted advisor Roger Stone is led away in handcuffs to face charges of lying to the Mueller enquiry. Good times, people, good times!
Cameron Slater is seriously ill. The Whale Oil blog will carry on without him, but in the meantime, Cam is asking for help.
* not a real union.
Another day, another leak from the National Party. If it’s not JLR, just who is poking the borax inside the Tory caucus?
The Sroubek beat up is still with us. Why won’t National tell us what they knew and what they agreed to?
Jami-Lee Ross has passed his proxy vote to NZ First, elevating waka jumping to an Olympic sport. How bad does it have to get before the Tory caucus puts Simon Bridges out of his misery?
Simon Bridges has advertised for a Senior Social Media advisor.
Newshub has released a further Jami-Lee Ross tape which contains a promise by Simon Bridges that if Ross stood down for health reasons he could come back in the new year and be promoted.
I can only describe Bryce Edwards spin about what a “The Standard” post means is that it is complete bullshit. This site is not the editorial and political monolith. But what else do you expect from a political simpleton with a limited understanding of actual debate. Like Mike Hosking, he is far more suited to a broadcast medium where he doesn’t get robust debate on their inane explanations of real world politics.
Judith Collins has landed herself in trouble for publicising details of a young couple who just bought a Kiwibuild home.
Simon Bridges thinks that he is past trouble caused by the Jami-Lee Ross incident. But the way things are developing he may be in the middle of things.
Were you just taken for a ride?
National is trying to say that everything is fine with Simon Bridges’ leadership, that he has handled the Jami-Lee Ross crisis well and that his leadership is assured. I beg to differ.
The repercussions of Jami-Lee Ross’s expulsion continue to be felt. Disclosures about complaints regarding Ross’s behaviour are difficult to reconcile with what Bridges and Bennett have said recently. And National’s relationship with ethnic groups has taken a battering.
Maybe not a smoking gun, Jami-Lee Ross’s tape recording of Simon Bridges sheds plenty of sunlight on the influence that money can buy within the National Party, casual racism endemic within National, the manipulation of ethnic communities and, most importantly, insights into the wielding of “soft power” by China.
Jami-Lee Ross has released the tape of his talking with Simon Bridges where the suggestion was made that two Chinese MPs would be more valuable than two Indian MPs. And Melanie Reid has published an article containing the allegations of four women against Ross of inappropriate behaviour.
Jamie-Lee Ross will seek to win a by-election as an independent. Says that Simon Bridges is corrupt and unlikeable and that he could prove it. Refutes Simon Bridges claim against him of harassment of women. Said the by-election would be a referendum on Bridges’ leadership. Updated: Simon Bridges responds – what he doesn’t say is more interesting
