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NZ Herald: Damning report rewritten after ‘war-room’ meeting

Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, November 14th, 2015 - 17 comments

The Herald seems to have accidentally deleted the online version of yesterday’s big story from Kirsty Johnson on how the government manipulates media perceptions. However could that have happened?

Power Corruption and Lies

Written By: - Date published: 1:04 pm, November 13th, 2015 - 78 comments

A National List MP has been snapped trying to heavy the Housing Ministry into funding a lift in her personal profile. Remember John Key’s ‘higher standards in Government’? Nick Smith’s Ministerial office apparently doesn’t care too much about about such trifles. Worse, the Housing Ministry has been caught trying to cover up for the Tories by redacting an OIA request. Here’s your Brighter Future, folks. Enjoy.

Petition: It’s Not OK Prime Minister

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, November 13th, 2015 - 46 comments

This petition at ActionStation is closing in on 5,000 signatures.

When survivors speak out

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, November 12th, 2015 - 45 comments

Previously posted at Boots Theory. Content note: discussion of sexual violence and the experience of survivors. Yesterday I did a round-up of the women’s voices on Twitter talking about recent events in Parliament, where women MPs from the Opposition, many of them survivors of sexual violence, were thrown out of the House for taking exception […]

International shame – again

Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, November 12th, 2015 - 64 comments

Key and Carter have brought NZ international shame yet again. Males in a position of power using rape as a cheap political tactic and then punishing women for speaking up. Brighter Future.

Human Rights, Psychos and Opposition

Written By: - Date published: 11:08 am, November 11th, 2015 - 92 comments

New Zealand’s bloody awful parliamentary debacle.

There is Hope.

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, November 10th, 2015 - 65 comments

Anarchism, past and present.

While we are at it – let’s try to save the planet

Written By: - Date published: 12:32 am, November 10th, 2015 - 49 comments

Can’t be many more important campaigns than saving the planet right?  Only people power will change the current economic levers which are designed to burn burn burn.  We have the chance to join with others around the world ahead of the climate talks in Paris to send a strong message to our Government that we […]

Minister declined to comment…

Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, November 9th, 2015 - 9 comments

Isn’t it amazing how many Ministers can’t wait to front up to the media when they are selling. But when it comes to after sale service they just don’t want to front?

Labour, identity, class and winning

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, November 9th, 2015 - 54 comments

The question of identity politics and Labour’s direction just never go away. But maybe we’re just thinking about it all wrong.

The cost of cancer

Written By: - Date published: 12:55 pm, November 9th, 2015 - 39 comments

When people are turning in these numbers to crowd-funding for treatment something is seriously, seriously wrong.

Poverty’s Beneficiaries.

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, November 8th, 2015 - 68 comments

While pondering this post, I was pointed to a post from last year, in which poverty and the cost of breakfast were on the agenda. Stephanie was writing in response to the ignorance of Nikki Kaye who claimed that giving affordable nutritious breakfast to children was easy. While I haven’t taken the time to read all of the comments on the subject, I thought Stephanie proved the point quite aptly that the reality is far different than the hypothetical world of poverty in which Nikki Kaye lives.

Len Brown stands down

Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, November 8th, 2015 - 59 comments

Len Brown has announced that he will not contest the Auckland Mayoralty next year.

Why there should be an equal number of men and women in Cabinet

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, November 6th, 2015 - 160 comments

Canadian Prime Minister explains clearly why he decided to have an equal number of men and women in his cabinet.

David Cunliffe on the state of the media in New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, November 5th, 2015 - 111 comments

In Parliament yesterday David Cunliffe spoke about the state of the country’s Media and how in rugby terms the right have effectively screwed the scrum..

The education review

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, November 4th, 2015 - 31 comments

National is initiating a review of education. They will of course be excluding consideration of resourcing and their sacred cows (national standards, charter schools). One possible outcome appears to be shifting resources from poorer schools to richer ones.

DoC Staff Striking during Conservation Week

Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, November 3rd, 2015 - 30 comments

How far removed from a ‘cloth-capped mob of union-stirrers and industrial saboteurs’ would the staff of the Department of Conservation be? These people would have to be among the most valued and generally respected public sector workers in the country. And now they are reduced to this. DOC staff to take industrial action as Conservation […]

Foxy on John Key and the RWC

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, November 3rd, 2015 - 26 comments

If a picture paints a thousand words this cartoon by Foxy paints a million.

Muslim Gives Away Medal.

Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, November 1st, 2015 - 51 comments

For some, winning isn’t just about grabbing the glory.

ABs vs Australia

Written By: - Date published: 2:41 pm, October 31st, 2015 - 78 comments

Will the All Blacks be the first team to defend a RWC title?

Petition on Slater’s hate speech

Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, October 31st, 2015 - 128 comments

petition-slater-hate-speech

US ship visit and nuclear free NZ

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, October 31st, 2015 - 77 comments

The US has been invited to send a ship to NZ. One News has a headline about a “nuclear ship”. Explosive if true, but I think this is an error. There is some confusion on the matter, let’s hope it is cleared up fast.

Food Bank Charity

Written By: - Date published: 4:45 pm, October 30th, 2015 - 97 comments

Guest post from Kōrero Pono on the politics and ethics of food banks.

Dirty Politics was in the public interest

Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, October 30th, 2015 - 46 comments

Today’s anonymous editorial in The Herald makes for interesting reading, with the right conclusion in the end – Hager’s Dirty Politics served a genuine public interest, and should be legally protected as such.

Were people smugglers paid money to take refuges away from New Zealand?

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 30th, 2015 - 34 comments

Amnesty International has published a report “By Hook or by Crook: Australia’s Abuse of Asylum-Seekers at Sea” which has rightfully been described as a damning indictment of Australia’s handling of the refugee crisis. But New Zealand benefitted from payments of money to people smugglers.  What did the Government know?

Five years as a united Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, October 30th, 2015 - 168 comments

Auckland Council is delivering a publication to all Auckland households celebrating five years of Auckland super city. But is there any reason to celebrate?

Technology and the law – and going after Hager

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, October 29th, 2015 - 214 comments

A recent supreme court ruling that a “stored sequence of bytes” constitutes property is pretty bizarre – and it seems to be being used to go after Nicky Hager.

“A creeping authoritarianism from the current government”

Written By: - Date published: 4:17 pm, October 28th, 2015 - 37 comments

The reaction to Westpac handing over Nicky Hager’s data to police is still playing out. Rob Hosking observes “a creeping authoritarianism from the current government”.

Getting mommy to dispense the drugs

Written By: - Date published: 12:52 pm, October 28th, 2015 - 32 comments

Now that cannabis is going legal and heading for the neighbourhood social gatherings where mothers sell addictive substances (like cosmetics and kitchenware) to each other. Lets legalize it, tax it HEAVILY, and could someone please give Helen Kelly and others like her the relief that they can use.

We are paying for Key and Coleman to attend the World Cup

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, October 28th, 2015 - 207 comments

John Key and Jonathan Coleman are attending the World Cup on the taxpayer’s tab.

NZ number one in the world – and it’s all bad news

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, October 27th, 2015 - 388 comments

Rachel Stewart writes about a disaster for this country.