Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
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 post suggesting that the traditional descriptive lens of “left and right” isn’t up to capturing current political realities.
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.
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.
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?
Is Julian Assange about to be arrested? Equador looks set to evict the accused rapist and capitalist tool from its London embassy.
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.
Something beginning with…wtf?!
Two Canadian far right bigots have been granted visas to visit NZ. Let’s make them wish they’d never left Canada, eh.
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.
The Australians are upset with Andrew Little expressing concern about their inhumane treatment of some Kiwis living in Australia and are throwing Donald Trump type tantrums to show their displeasure.
It is Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday. Happy birthday to him. If he was alive today he would be 100 years old.
You would think that while Jacinda Ardern takes time out to properly introduce baby Neve to the world opposition leader Simon Bridges would be striding throughout the country like a colossus and really make a name for himself. But of late he has been rather invisible.
Mike Hosking appears to have entered into a particularly dark time.
Donald Trump has directly contradicted the collective decision of the United States Security agencies by denying that there was Russian involvement in the last US general election.
The free speech coalition’s desire to get the High Court to enforce the rights of Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux has struck a potential snag. A rather major snag.
As though politicians with a social democratic bent don’t have enough to contend with…
Some things that President Trump won’t do as when meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.
Peter Dunne has some sage advice for National; phone a friend. If you can find one.
* with every purchase.
In the space of a week England has lost in its goal of winning the world cup, had three senior ministers resign over May’s “soft” BREXIT proposal and now Donald Trump has effectively called for Theresa May to be replaced by Boris Johnson.
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.
It’s a principle.
The Free Speech coalition, formed to protect freedom of speech for the far right, has amongst its members some whose views on what freedom of speech actually is are unusual.
A Warkworth cake maker has refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. The situation raises the question should she be allowed to discriminate against others on the grounds that she is exercising her rights of religious belief.
Labour MP Dr. Deborah Russell is to take a closer look at why an insult hurled against her in Parliament by National Ltd™ List MP Nicky Wagner has been redacted from Hansard.
The Board of The Opportunities Party (TOP) has decided to request that the Electoral Commission cancel TOP’s registration as a political party
The speed of the growing trade war between the United States and China will hit New Zealand. Our long term diplomatic arc, such […]
The Court of Appeal has released its decision in the Kim Dotcom extradition case. The case has had a lot of resources thrown […]
Lauren Southern’s cancelled lecture has caused some debate about what freedom of speech is, is it absolute, and if not where is the line to be drawn?
The extent and limits of current politics.
Far right journalist Lauren Southern wants to come to New Zealand to give a speech which will no doubt insult various communities. Should we let her in?
Dame Margaret Beazley has concluded in her report into Russell McVeagh, New Zealand’s Goldman Sachs, that it has serious problems including instances of excessive drinking and in some instances crude, drunken, and sexually inappropriate behaviour, a failure of governance and pockets of bullying.
These sorts of debates do my head in. Essentially because they are so removed from reality that anyone with any sense would know […]
* according to Alex Jones on Infowars.
Being in the thick of student politics in the mid 2000s, I was around just at the very beginning of social media.
