A word of thanks
Robert Guyton deserves many thanks for the series of posts he recently wrote for the Standard.
Social issues
uncategorized
Of Leaks and Hacks
Maybe the Russians weren’t coming. Or we must believe that “KGB chief Vladimir Putin put Inspector Clouseau in charge of Russian security and left him to get on with it.” George Washington discusses the evidence. Fodder for the net-savvy
Donate to Auckland City Mission
Auckland City Mission is calling for donations to meet Christmas demand. You can donate here.
Fare well David Shearer
Caption competition
Cabinet reshuffle – Haere ra McCully?
Bill English gets to name his own cabinet on Monday. It will be interesting to see what happens to McCully. In February McCully announced his intention to stand down in East Coast Bays and that he would seek a list place, but only if he remained as Minister of Foreign Affairs after the next election. It’s an ultimatum he may have cause to regret.
David Shearer resigning?
The Herald has reported that David Shearer is expected to resign, forcing a by election in the new year.
The alt list of the most influential Aucklanders
And now for an alternative version of the Aucklanders most likely to make a difference to our city but who will not feature in the Herald’s spy column.
Hickey on surpluses and Key’s bullshit
Bernard Hickey: “It is extraordinary for the Prime Minister to call the Treasury’s short and long term forecasts a “load of nonsense” and yet rely on the medium term ones to promise all manner of riches to voters on the eve of an election.”
Around the House…
Labour-insider Key talks to the Herald while expressing no confidence in his candidate (the one standing at his shoulder); Leggett legs it; and National shoot down kiwi businesses, kiwi workers and kiwi tenants.
Not a bad day’s work.
Dire warnings of the bleeding obvious
Warnings from the government and the Reserve Bank that first home buyers are taking on too much debt. Prices are too high, wages are too low, interest rates are rising. These warnings are effectively telling the average first home buyer to give up.
Key interview – facts don’t matter
Lisa Owen interviewed Key on The Nation yesterday. As usual Key spent half his time denying facts and figures – in this case from Treasury and from his own government sources.
Daily Review 24/11/2016
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
To be fair they probably don’t have much experience with spades
Has Key abandoned Parmar in the Mt Roskill by election?
As National’s Mt Roskill by election campaign starts to implode John Key’s absence is becoming very noticeable.
Andrew Little: Promises to Pike families must be kept
Yesterday marked the sixth anniversary of the Pike River disaster. Here is a statement released by Andrew Little urging that the mine not be sealed and the deaths of the miners be investigated and their bodies brought home.
An interesting time for the Republicans
Trump is going to be a figurehead, not a president, leaving governance to an unfettered Republican machine. That machine is no friend of the disenfranchised, never was, never will be. How will Trump’s base react to being betrayed?
Remedy for Global Instability – a Public Lecture by Dr Helen Caldicott
“New Zealand now has a unique opportunity to revise its foreign policy and military spending,” says Dr Caldicott, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Trump scooped up the white vote that Democrats abandoned
Trump laid siege to the Democrat’s “Blue Wall” and they didn’t respond to or recognise his strategem until far too late.
The media double standard
Andrea Vance has attacked Labour’s Ready to Work policy and claimed that the policy does not add up, despite being told how the figures had been arrived at.
Hooray Henry!
Paul Henry is to leave TV3. Did two pairs of tits lead to him getting the arse?
David Cunliffe announces his retirement from politics
David Cunliffe has announced that he will not be standing for Parliament at the next election.
Rigged
Maybe Donald Trump’s claims that the election results are going to be rigged deserve more consideration.
ISIS Crisis
Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee says our training mission to Iraq is undergoing a transformation. We were warned when the troops first went that the mission was always intended to be looser than Brownlee publicly claimed at the time. And so it has turned out to be.
Fabian Event – 5th Labour Government – 30 October Auckland 1pm
All are warmly invited to hear Sir Michael Cullen, Hon Margaret Wilson, Hon David Parker, Mike Williams, and Dot Kettle reflect on the experiences of Helen Clark-led three-term Labour government – its achievements and its legacy and discuss its lessons for the future. Sunday 30 October 1pm-5pm Owen Glenn Centre, Auckland University, Grafton Road. Please register here.
US Election Discussion Post 27/10/16
Today’s post for all random comments and links on the US election.
Blogs and Activism
What contribution can a blog make to activism?
Darren Watson 2 John Key 0
The Court of Appeal has ruled that Darren Watson’s Planet Key song should not have been banned during the 2014 election campaign.
Clinton vs Trump: Debate 3
We’re almost there, folks! The third and final presidential debate kicks off this arvo. Will Trump turn it around? Will Hillary bother turning up? Will Fox News beome a legitimate news outlet now that they’re allowed to run a debate? All will be revealed at 2 PM this arvo.
Heck Yeah! Hekia Parata to Leave Parliament
Hekia Parata is to leave Parliament next year. The bad news is that she is probably going to stay on as education minister till then.
Fifth Labour Govt – Challenges and Lessons
Michael Cullen and Margaret Wilson will speak at the Fabian Society Seminar “5th Labour Government – Lessons from a time of Challenges” at Owen Glenn Centre, Auckland University, Grafton Road on Sunday October 30 from 1-5pm. Mike Williams, Dot Kettle and David Parker will be on the panel. Everyone welcome to discuss and debate. Guaranteed to be interesting – details inside.
National’s HCNZ cash problem
On Thursday National announced a really big budget cash surplus but it became apparent that Housing Corp has a really big cashflow problem.
There is no surplus
In Year Eight of this National government, the idea of a budget surplus is a joke. They’ve promised it for nearly a decade. They’ve fiddled the books. The truth is, there is no surplus.
RIP Helen Kelly
Helen Kelly, NZ’s most prominent trade unionist, has died. A battler to the very end, Helen will be greatly missed.
Trump continues to get massive popular traction – why?
After Trump’s worst week in the campaign so far he attracted a capacity ~8,000 strong crowd to hear him speak in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., including thousands of women. What’s going on? Maybe it’s the fact that a hundred million Americans are essentially flat broke in an economy that the MSM repeaters keep insisting is recovering well, and anti-establishment feelings are running very, very high.
Water and community
In coming together around a common need to protect water and land, community forms.