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Categories under Social issues

An R-101 Post

Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, October 2nd, 2015 - 89 comments

Someone once made an art-work of a brick with some ‘guy ropes’ attached to represent the ill fated R-101 airship…

Three minutes to midnight. John Key incoherent.

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, October 2nd, 2015 - 91 comments

Same ole, same ole. Except, this time, US neoconservative imperalism might have a problem. Russia.

Diesel Bomb

Written By: - Date published: 11:53 am, October 1st, 2015 - 37 comments

Last Friday I wrote a post on Volkwagen gaming NOx emissions. This is a follow up.

NRT: Muppets

Written By: - Date published: 4:50 pm, September 30th, 2015 - 33 comments

I/S at No Right Turn on the Crown’s apparent bungling of the Dotcom extradition case – and the potential cost to NZ.

Dunne: Our foreign policy lacks any commitment to human rights

Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, September 30th, 2015 - 32 comments

Peter Dunne doesn’t hold back in his assessment of the craven foreign policy – that is the creation of his government.

Key pinches Labour’s Kermadec Sanctuary Policy

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 30th, 2015 - 88 comments

National’s announced intention to create a marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands looks remarkably like Labour’s policy from the last election. And why did John Key not tell his caucus beforehand?

What other countries are doing about climate change

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, September 29th, 2015 - 27 comments

There is hope that the cumulative effect of all the international pledges for the Paris climate change conference may buy the world some time to prevent runaway global warming.  Some countries are pledging to becoming carbon neutral.  New Zealand’s pledge is pathetically weak in comparison.

Christianity doesn’t compromise with other religions

Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, September 29th, 2015 - 115 comments

Christianity doesn’t compromise with other religions or has the World Finally Gone madder?

Groser don’t go

Written By: - Date published: 3:22 pm, September 28th, 2015 - 5 comments

Greenpeace, 350 Aotearoa and the Coal Action Network have jointly urged John Key not to send Tim Groser to Paris for the climate change talks because the Government’s policies and proposed response will embarrass New Zealand and damage its international reputation.

The problem is child poverty not CYF

Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, September 28th, 2015 - 34 comments

The Rebstock Panel inquiry could be read to confirm that Child Youth and Family is unable to perform its job properly because of it is not properly resourced to provide the job. But it is clear that National is loathe to provide it with any more resources. And the elephant in the room is that the Government fails to understand that escalating child poverty is the cause the crisis.

Goff: Collins planning her move

Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, September 28th, 2015 - 75 comments

Goff: “Judith’s column this week is the opening shot in her campaign to succeed John Key as National’s leader.”

Nats and reproductive rights

Written By: - Date published: 6:58 am, September 28th, 2015 - 210 comments

The Nats are obsessed with the reproductive rights of those they deem “unfit”. Once again they are floating the idea of compulsory controls.

NOx-ious shit all around.

Written By: - Date published: 7:49 am, September 25th, 2015 - 109 comments

Been trying to get my head around the implications of Volkswagen’s rigged diesel performance tests. Predictably, and unlike most stories covering this, I couldn’t give a rat’s arse for the financial woes the company might be facing.

The political machinations of the flag debate

Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, September 25th, 2015 - 276 comments

The Green’s agreement with National to allow for Red Peak to be a referendum candidate potentially helps John Key out of a major difficulty and raises issues about the state of the Labour-Green relationship.

Government by Twitter

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, September 24th, 2015 - 66 comments

We have passed an interesting milestone in the evolution of NZ politics. Key’s poll-driven pandering has just been taken to the next level. Political / media dinosaurs will never be able to dismiss “The Twitterati” again.

Flagging a dead horse

Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, September 23rd, 2015 - 213 comments

Gareth Morgan pulls no punches on the flag fiasco, and a breaking story on the Greens’ move to add Red Peak.

Housing Corp’s privatisation by stealth

Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, September 22nd, 2015 - 15 comments

One News has discovered that over the past five years Housing Corporation has divested itself of 2,472 houses at the same time that the need for social housing has escalated.

The flag poll

Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, September 21st, 2015 - 90 comments

OK I confess I’m only writing this post because the chance to use that title tickled my fancy. But anyway – almost 70% of us oppose changing the flag.

Twelve long months

Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, September 20th, 2015 - 103 comments

Twelve months on from the last election and that brighter future we were promised has not happened.

Cameron Slater – still technically (and legally) incompetent

Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, September 19th, 2015 - 17 comments

Loaded with paper and irrelevant arguments, Cameron Slater managed to add 7 counts of contempt of court to his every growing sheet of convictions. It is a pity that he doesn’t put that level of effort into the technical job of policing his site. I look at 6 of those convictions.

Economic doldrums

Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, September 19th, 2015 - 16 comments

Two pieces this week on how National’s mismanagement of the economy has left us in the doldrums.

Nat insider condemns flag jack-up

Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, September 18th, 2015 - 75 comments

Grant McLachlan (a former Parliamentary researcher and a Nat campaign director) calls National’s flag process “a jack up”, and says “Everything the National Party has done around the flag debate is dodgy”.

The strip mining of Housing Corp is accelerated

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, September 17th, 2015 - 33 comments

Not only is Housing Corp planning to pay a $118 million dividend to the Crown this year but hidden away in its accounts is the payment of a further capital contribution of $336 million.  Talk about strip mining …

Paid parental leave bill progresses – towards veto

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, September 17th, 2015 - 30 comments

Last night in Parliament Labour MP Sue Moroney’s bill extending paid parental leave to 26 weeks passed its first reading by one vote, with only National and ACT opposed.

Good question

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, September 16th, 2015 - 66 comments

sanders-poverty

Paid leave for Victims of Domestic Violence

Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, September 15th, 2015 - 40 comments

UPDATE  You can read the non gender specific Bill here

Breaking: Abbott leadership challenge

Written By: - Date published: 5:58 pm, September 14th, 2015 - 88 comments

Seems to be a leadership challenge against Abbott in Australia, a conference at 6pm our time…

Update: Abbott is gone, Turnbull won 54-44.

Does the left win by tacking to the centre or by being principled?

Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, September 13th, 2015 - 162 comments

Jeremy Corbyn’s election provides a further opportunity to discuss if elections should be won by  tacking to the centre or adopting a principled approach to politics.

Stuff piece on Red Peak

Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, September 13th, 2015 - 23 comments

flag-ferns1

Well spoken Police Commissioner

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, September 12th, 2015 - 27 comments

In The Herald: “Despite the number of armed incidents recently police should remain unarmed, the Police Commissioner says.”

Key and Abbott are prepared to sacrifice the Pacific

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, September 12th, 2015 - 98 comments

Climate change induced sea level increases poses a huge threat to most Pacific Islands.  They are seeking support for a goal of limiting temperature increases to no more than 1.5 degrees.  Australia and New Zealand are insisting on sticking to a goal of no more than 2 degrees even though this will likely mean that many Islands will disappear.