Common sense from the Herald – stop the press!
Brian Rudman’s piece in today’s Herald is so far the most sensible comment on the Spencer Trust affair. He points out that funding […]
Media
articles
Oram’s Ides of March
Rod Oram can nearly always be relied upon for insightful analysis that takes debate a step further. In the SSTimes today he asks: […]
PSA rips Bagrie report
Good piece in the Herald yesterday (and the Dom Post the day before) from PSA national sec Richard Wagstaff critiquing ANZ National chief […]
It’s not just the polls
Jordan Carter posted a month or so back (a little controversially) on how much easier life might be for some on the left […]
Tearaway on election ’08
A reader just alerted us to the fact that Tearaway’s latest issue features a piece on election ’08. Gotta love the question about […]
Geek’s view
On the odd occasion I have time to read outside of the confines of The Standard and its ever increasing brawl of entertaining […]
Leadership: What’s nice got to do with it?
An interesting article in the Washington Post poses the question: “You thought our presidential candidates were nice guys, regular guys, guys with whom […]
The 100 thing challenge
From Time magazine: Excess consumption is practically an American religion. But as anyone with a filled-to-the-gills closet knows, the things we accumulate can […]
Matt McCarten from the Herald on Sunday
Worth a read: Remember when George Bush’s administration promised the world that the invasion of Iraq would be over in a few weeks? […]
The dark side of the Right
Trotter is on the money today: …[A]ll of you young, confident women of the 21st century urgently need to pause and reflect upon […]
The gods of greed
The Guardian has extracts from a new book by Larry Elliott and Dan Atkinson, The Gods That Failed: How Blind Faith in Markets Has […]
Comparatively, gingers have it easy
Last month Mike Hucknall, lead singer of Simply Red, asserted that ‘ginger jibes’ were a form of racism. Opinion was divided. As you ponder that […]
Who is the Listener listening to?
Here’s an interesting piece from Otago University student magazine, Critic – “Who is the Listener listening to”: Substance does not always equate to sales. […]
A World Environment Day Carol
Garth George surprised me today, and a welcome surprise it was. Here’s an extract from his article – I decided that in this […]
“pretty similar”
I noticed an interesting comment from Ferdinand in our Kiwisaver thread yesterday: I signed up to Kiwisaver based on the 4% employer contribution […]
Pumps are baulking at the price of gas too
As the price of our petrol continues to climb, having recently crossed the $2 a litre barrier, spare a thought for some US […]
Lazy academic calls Pacific Island workers lazy
Economist Greg Clydesdale has released a report in which he says Pacific Islanders are a drain on the New Zealand economy (exhibiting “significant […]
An unfair advantage?
Oscar Pistorius now the chance to become the first amputee to compete on the track at the Olympics. The 21-year-old who runs on artificial carbon fibre legs […]
Corporate responsibility
Anyone remember the Pinto? Arguably not Ford’s finest hour. When in 1968 it became apparent that the Pinto’s defective fuel tank could result […]
Does money buy happiness after all?
In 1974, economist Richard Easterlin, published a study in which he argued that economic growth didn’t necessarily lead to more satisfaction. In poor […]
Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand
The NY Times reports on the symbiotic relationship between media “military analysts” and the Bush administration. Records and interviews show how the Bush […]
Beware the Tory wolf in liberal clothing
Polly Toynbee of The Guardian writes: “Beware the lesson of the Tory wolf in liberal clothing: Sweden’s great social democracy has been transformed […]
Finlay MacDonald: The Audacity of Hype
A reader wrote to us to say that they’d recently seen Finlay MacDonald speak at Otago University as part of the Distinguished Communicator […]
Guest post: Simon Tegg on Peak Oil
Meet Guest post. Guest post is 32 years old, he likes long walks on the beach and lively political debate. He is our […]
SST recycles discredited National party spin
Rob Stock apparently holds several awards for personal finance reporting but looks unlikely to win another based on his rehash of National Party […]
Fairtrade: More than just branding
Do you buy Fairtrade products? Or do you think of it as just another marketing ploy? This recent article “Teach us how to […]
Espiner on National’s hypocrisy
From Colin’s blog: It’s time for National to put its mouth where its money is. After a week of climbing into Labour boots […]
Getting emotional about economics
Michael Shermer of the LA Times asks: “Would you rather earn $50,000 a year while other people make $25,000, or would you rather […]
Is inequality closing down our concern for others?
Jenny Russel of the Guardian writes, “As the middle classes feel the pain of comparison with the super-rich, we lose all enthusiasm for […]
Salvation Army report finds poverty in Godzone
A report out today from the Salvation Army acts as a reminder that despite a suite of policies designed to improve the lives […]
George Bush’s favourite painting
What does President Bush’s favourite painting say about him? The Guardian trys to find out. Bush claims that the artwork, which hangs in […]
The political brain – listen to this
A must hear for anyone interested in political marketing and influencing voters. This item played on Chris Laidlaw’s Sunday show on Radio NZ […]
Is Barack Obama dull?
Armando Iannucci from The Observer wonders whether he’s the only person to find Barack Obama dull: Like Will Smith, who in the new […]
The best of The Standard in 2007
As we contemplate a bad year in the polls for Labour, the signs are pointing to National cruising onto victory in 2008. Or […]
A New Year’s wish
As a kid growing up in the countryside I recall being startled by the realisation that there were people in the world who […]
Rules of the game
Just had a read of Colin Espiner’s latest opinion piece. He certainly doesn’t pull any punches. Here’s what he has to say about […]