The Entrust election debacle
National aligned C&R has shown how bad it is at running elections by running an election where less than one in ten eligible people voted.
spin
you couldn’t make this shit up
Who are these angry Aucklanders?
This weekend there have been two attempts to undermine the current Auckland Covid lock down. Brian Tamaki’s was not the most ludicrous.
Dirty Politics does not work any more
Egged on by a shock horror smear campaign on Cameron Slater’s latest post Judith Collins has attacked Dr Siouxsie Wiles by fat shaming her.
Covid and the media
This week there has been some argy bargy between the Twitterati including the Waitakerati and the media on coverage of Covid in Aotearoa with elements of the media complaining that the criticisms are unjustified. A brief review of some of the offerings this week would suggest otherwise.
The mysterious socialist hermit kingdom
Various commentators including Nigel Farage have claimed that New Zealand’s Covid elimination strategy is a failure. Our death rate and the possibility that we can again return to a normality that other nations can only aspire to suggests they are wrong.
Bowker may be a dick but he has not breached the draft hate speech legislation
Troy Bowker has bowled out of Hurricanes Rugby but has claimed free speech martyrdom after the response to his well publicised criticism of the word “Aotearoa”. But his claims of martyrdom like his recent attacks on lefties would appear to be hopelessly overbaked.
The Churchill picture
National, the party that claims to be focussed on the issues that matter decided to get upset when the Greens requested the replacement of a picture of a former UK leader who had a reputation for engaging in crimes against humanity.
Lies damned lies and Crime statistics
It should be an offence for political parties to deliberately misrepresent law and order statistics as National has done this week. It should be an aggravating feature if the party is a conservative party that champions law and order issues. After all fraud is an offence and if we don’t punish it appropriately then everyone will do it.
Freedom day
As infection rates of Covid in the United Kingdom surge Boris Johnson has announced that today will be the UK’s Freedom day and will be removing pretty well all mandatory Covid restrictions, even the wearing of masks and social distancing.
About the Hate Speech law changes
The debate about the Government’s consultation on proposed changes to hate speech laws continues, with the level of heat increasing, but the level of actual understanding of what is being proposed in critical shortage.
Judith Collins is not John Key
I honestly am not sure what Judith’s game plan. Supporting someone who on twitter called for the lynching of a person with a contrary view is not a way to reach to the middle of New Zealand politics.
The five eyes beat up
There has been a conservative sourced beat up of Aotearoa New Zealand for not using an intelligence gathering treaty grouping to publicly attack China.
She might have saved us from Covid but she does not drink beer with Soper
Newstalk ZB, Mike Hosking and Barry Soper are shocked, I tell you, shocked that Jacinda Ardern will no longer regularly appear on the Mike Hosking show.
National is focused on the issues that matter to Kiwis
National MP Barbara Kuriger has seized on the decision of the owners of Dr Seuss’s copyright to discontinue the printing of six Dr Seuss books with questionable content as evidence of cancel culture and has misrepresented which books are being discontinued.
Amandla …
David Seymour and Act have likened the institutional suppression of people based on the colour of their skin with a desire to ensure local government representation for Tangata Whenua.
Cruz’s Cancun crisis
What should a Texan representative do when the state is frozen over following an extreme weather event? How about take a trip across the Mexican border for a holiday in a beach resort?
Texas’s power crisis
Over in the US of A in the great state of Texas and in surrounding states locals are experiencing unusually cold weather and are suffering from the effects. But instead of blaming their not fit for purpose electrical systems they are blaming the Green New Deal, even though it has not been implemented.
Anatomy of a failed coup
America’s descent into chaos was almost completed yesterday. An amazingly inept display by local police saw a takeover of Congress and a temporary disruption of the confirmation of the clearly expressed view of the majority of Americans.
Trump’s next 48 hours
With crucial Senate run off races in Georgia and Congress meeting to receive the declared results of the US election and with Republicans determined to oppose the results at every turn the next couple of days will be very significant for America’s future. Update (lprent): The democratic senators from Georgia are called as victors. A riot pushed by an irresponsible President Trump happened at the Capitol building with people dead. Congress subsequently made a determined proclamation that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are confirmed a the newly elected president and vice-president. As for Donald Trump – goodbye to unstable rubbish..
How low will Bridges go?
Simon Bridges has spent the last week casting aspersions on people who have tragically died at Music Festivals in an attempt to score culture war inspired political points and undermine the Government’s new pill testing law.
Trump pardons buddies
Donald trump has in the past couple of days issued a number of pardons to people including former members of his campaign team, Jared Kushner’s father, a group of contractors involved in the massacre of 14 Iraqi civilians including a 14 year old boy and Ben Carson’s best friend.
Plan B activists still think NZ should be like Sweden
In a letter published in the Royal New Zealand College of Medical Practitioners journal Plan B academics have criticised the Government’s Covid elimination strategy because of the economic effects at the same time that recently announced growth figures show the economy grew in the past 12 months despite Covid.
What does Steinlager and the Pacific anti nuclear movement have in common?
In as blatant a case of cultural and historical misappropriation as you can imagine the makers of Steinlager has produced a dumbed down video that distorts the history of decades of opposition to French Nuclear testing in the Pacific in an effort to sell beer.
Brexit revisited
With Brexit looming there is talk of unfinished customs software and the possibility of chaos around ports, the UK’s food supply being compromised, and potential skirmishes with France at fishing spots. And Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron are refusing to talk to Boris Johnson. Hang on England, this is going to get wild.
The million MAGA muppet march
America is in some trouble. Covid19 is surging. The third wave is hitting hard. Suddenly 100,000 daily new infections is not a scary possibility, 200,000 is. And a group of Americans have been persuaded that Trump has had the election stolen off him.
Blood sucking leeches blame young for blood supply crisis
The Property Investor Federation’s executive officer has expressed the opinion that every time a first home buyer buys a house it makes the housing crisis worse.
Aotearoa New Zealand is a hell hole paradise dystopian democracy
Fox News has seized upon a four month old video of Jacinda Ardern to suggest that New Zealand has a terrifying new response to the disease and are throwing people into quarantine camps.
The Trump Covid game
Let’s imagine a scenario where you are the President of the United States and it is in the middle of a pandemic. You then contract the virus yourself. How would you rate compared to Donald Trump?
Paul Goldsmith should stop digging
Paul Goldsmith has shown yet again his complete inability to understand how Government finances work by claiming there is a $10 billion dollar hole in Labour’s fiscal plan where there is none.
National’s alternative budget doesn’t add up
If ever you needed a symbol of National’s current plight it is the handling of the release of its alternative budget. It has been a complete and utter shambles. A clusterf&*k of epic proportions. Because if there is one part of National’s reputation that needs to be defended at all costs it is the perception that they are competent financial managers and making multiple billion dollar mistakes in your alternative budget at election time is the one thing over all else that will hurt that part of your reputation.
Paora Goldsmith is National’s $4 billion dollar man
Paul Goldsmith has blighted National’s campaign launch by making a $4 billion dollar mistake in National’s budget costings.
What did Brownlee know about Southern Response’s misleading and deceptive conduct?
The Court of Appeal has ruled that Southern Response has engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct and has potentially short changed thousands of Cantabrians hundreds of millions of dollars.
National’s latest deception
National’s social media team has published an edited version of a response to a written question by Chris Hipkins to suggest that returning kiwis in quarantine were not subject to compulsory testing, when the reality is anyone refusing a test can be held for up to 26 days following the fortnight stay.
What does Judith do about Gerry?
Gerry Brownlee has chosen to not only repeat his conspiracy theories involving Ashley Bloomfield but also claim that the media is against National. Both claims have no factual foundation.
The strange tale of the Auckland Central selection and Merv from Manurewa
News has emerged that a senior National Party figure rang talkback radio and made derogatory comments about National’s only Sri Lankan candidate in an apparent attempt to reduce her chance of being selected as National’s Auckland Central candidate.