New blog – Anton Oliver
Check out this post by former All Black Captain Anton Oliver on the blog over at New Zealand Story.
Media
blogs
No free speech at convention centre
National’s dirty deal with Sky City includes the right for the government to ban groups it doesn’t like from booking the convention centre.
Free speech. Use it or lose it.
ManBan!
Would it kill our journalists to add just the tiniest bit of fact into their Labour-scandal-obsessed feeding frenzy?
Notice to epicene women
The dynamic duo of right-wing blogging are the modern day incarnation of the likes of Henry Wright and his 1902 “Notice to Epicene Women”…
Man ban – Geddis on DPF
Labour is proposing female-only candidate selection in some cases. Andrew Geddis has indecent fun as he schools DPF on his “man ban” spin. Extracts below but go read the whole thing on Pundit.
DPF oops
Bad day for National’s favourite blogger yesterday (plus journalist David Fisher on the Kiwiblog comments section).
The Greens: Party democracy and parliamentary politics
John Armstrong follows Lusk’s plan in attacking The Green Party’s democratic change to Conference remit procedures. Isaac Davison gives a more balanced account& points to preparation for a Labour-Green government. How much bottom-up democracy can there be in a top-down parliamentary system?
The power of blogs
One of the most bizarre aspects of the Collins / Lusk faction’s plans (as per the leaked Lusk paper) was their perception of and plans for blogs.
Dim-Post on two comparisons
Danyl at Dim-Post on the strangely muted media response to the GCSB spying legislation, the witch-hunt against NZ Power, and more. Plus – check out Danyl’s (first) book – looks like a treat in store…
Colin Craig vs The Civilian
In which Colin Craig threatens The Civilian, thus ensuring its success…
Images of the GCSB scandal
Check out Bryce Edward’s latest images of the GCSB scandal…
Leaked EQC data posted online
The EQC data leaked to a Christchurch advocate / blogger has been posted on line.
Another day, another bullshit Family First/Curia poll
Oh look, once again Family First’s rhetoric fails to match its reality.
Should the Left keep opposing asset sales?
Should the parties of the Left continue to oppose asset sales? Lew At Kiwipolitico (loudly cheered on by Bryce Edwards) doesn’t think so. I think Lew is wrong. Here’s why…
The Daily Blog – A week of it
Happy one-week anniversary to The Daily Blog. If you haven’t checked it out yet I highly recommend it.
The Daily Blog
Today marks the launch of a new leftwing political blog in NZ, The Daily Blog. Go check them out…
THM: Questions that were never asked
Stargazer at The Hand Mirror has a unique take on the Prosser affair. Prosser claims to have been motivated by concerns for his daughters’ rights and freedoms – which raises some interesting questions…
Bomber, Tumeke and the next step…
Bomber Bradbury today steals The Pope’s limelight by announcing that he is stepping down from Tumeke. But fear not Lefties – it’s for a good cause…
Media Bias & Democracy II: beyond 2 sides
MSM “impartiality” focuses on two sides of a very narrow and shifting “centre”. Parliamentary Labour parties have got locked into appealing to this centre, over time shifting the caucus rightwards. Only momentum from the flax roots can break the resulting steady rightwards shift.
Questions questions
What is the role of blogs in the run up to the next election? What can the community here at The Standard accomplish in that time?
Media Bias & Democracy I: truth to power
Democracy needs independent news media, acting in the public interest, to speak truth to power. The commercial imperatives and neoliberal capture of corporate news organisations skew their political coverage, and contribute to voter disengagement. A perfect context for Key’s government to dismantle democracy: ECAN, CERA, Auckland Council, asset sales.
Something rotten in the state…
As an outsider watching the struggles in the Labour Party unfold, I am becoming increasingly despondent about the state of Left wing politics in NZ. Right now, NZ, and those of us who party vote Green/Mana, require a strong, democratic and solidly left wing Labour Party.
I’d almost agree with David on gender discrimination
A partner in a Napier legal firm is boycotting the annual Law Society Christmas party because it is being held in a club that will not allow women as members. “Women had to fight to get the vote. I’m not prepared to let that part of our history go, I’m not prepared to take that for granted.”
“Name” journalism & voter dis-engagement
Criticism of “anonymous” bloggers is a symptom of change that threatens to make politics more democratic. The rise of “name” journalism and infotainment have increased voter dis-engagement. However, well-managed blogging (by any name) can contribute to democratic re-engagement.
The privilege of real-name blogging
Brian Edwards is the latest to wade into the “anonymous bloggers” debate. I’ve previously posted about the reasons people use pseudonyms, and my personal “justifications” for […]
A new house every 13 minutes
KiwiBuild has the Nats rattled. It’s difficult to oppose a program that creates both affordable housing and jobs, but they’re doing their best. One of their lines is that NZ can’t build houses that quickly. They’re wrong – here’s why.
A note to a media commentator
I finally got around to listening to Gavin Ellis making a complete dork of himself on Radio NZ talking about authors on this site being “manipulated”. Hah! Anyone trying to manipulate them is likely to wind up being made into a pretzel. I wouldn’t care to try it myself. So does Gavin Ellis = a bit of an idiot. Or more charitably, has he actually bothered to think about this issue?
Nonsense
NZ Herald: ‘David Shearer is brushing off a crescendo of calls for him to step down by left-leaning bloggers and commentators, saying it is “nonsense” and should be ignored.’
Shuffle the caucus deck
By all means, get rid of the unfortunate experiment that is the David Shearer leadership. But the problem is really with the NZLP’s parliamentary caucus who appear to have lost sight of what we want them to achieve. Until that problem is fixed the party will continue to shed people willing to exert effort supporting them.
Thanks DPF for my laugh of the day
DPF is peddling a conspiracy theory that The Standard is acting on instructions for a coordinated attack on Shearer. I can see how he’d make that mistake, being used to a command and control structure for his Nat blog – but here at The Standard we don’t take orders from anyone.
Sunday Reading
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. This week: inequality, language on social media, and feminism.
I don’t think I’ll be taking his advice
On the back of Duncan Garner’s scathing piece on David Shearer, David Farrar endorses Grant Robertson for leader. Yeah, because his last recommendation’s worked out so well. Call me cynical, but I just don’t think National’s pollster has the Left’s interests at heart. No, I don’t think people will be looking to the Right for advice on who should lead Labour again.
Whaleoil and his toilet paper
The New Zealand Truth has been going down the toilet for a long time. But they may have found their perfect editor. Cameron Slater aka “Whaleoil” has apparently been made editor of it. A bombastic bullyboy with fetish for inaccuracy is exactly the right fit for the role. And it gets a real deadbeat away from the taxpayers purse.
Jones to jump to NZ First?
I see David Farrar’s retailing the rumour that’s been doing the rounds over the last week that Shane Jones is in talks with Winston to make the jump from Labour to become Deputy Leader of NZ First. This makes a lot of sense for Jones – he’s to the right of Labour, has a reputation for being a bit un-PC and has the gift of the gab that a leading NZ First politician needs.
A Sunday treat for everyone except Fran O’Sullivan
Parasitic blogger takes on Very Important Columnist who does Real Journalism Work to bring to her readers Informed and Insightful Commentary on The Issues That Really Matter.
‘Children of the Poor’ 1934 – 2012: Social Security for the Future?
Split Enz once sang, “History Never Repeats”… Or does it? Destructive prejudices separating ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor have been around a very long time. When the likes of Paula Bennett pander to such ill-informed vindictiveness with punitive social welfare reforms, they will damage large numbers of children – our future citizens.