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Simpsons evolution
This evening's Simpsons - Best. Intro. Ever.
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Archives · 2008-02-04 to 2008-02-10
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Media and our National Day
The decision of TVNZ's CloseUp to pay to assist Tame Iti to travel to Waitangi this year was the focus of Media Watch this morning. Ever ready to offer an opinion the PM stepped in with her view that: "I think it is a waste…
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Say chee$e
At the supermarket earlier this week I was browsing the aisles and noticed the price of cheese. It seems now that for a kilo of this yellow gold (hold on isn't gold kinda yellow anyway?) you'll be paying $16. Now that's a lot of money…
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When politics and music video collide
From CNN earlier in the week - Jeanne Moos presents her very own Super Tuesday Political Video Awards. A good summary of some of the hottest and some of the most cringe inducing items on the download circuit. What will be our NZ equivalent? Meantime…
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Push polling
Tony Milne responds to National Party blogger, David Farrar's recent post on push polling. Tony points out that any push polling undertaken during the last election was most likely a three way affair between the National Party, the Exclusive Brethren and conservative political consultants Crosby…
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Solution to wage-gap in hands of business
Larger (but still small) numbers of kiwis are leaving for Australia and higher incomes are part of the attraction. At the same time unemployment here is at a record low, which is good but employers are complaining about a lack of workers. To keep skilled…
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KiwiSaver – what if…
Kiwis are showing their canny side in the way we've been flocking to sign up to KiwiSaver - now over 400,000 strong and still growing. It's another dead rat that John Key has swallowed to make National an electable brand but let's not forget that…
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Greens/Maori Party cooperation good for the Left
The Maori Party and the Greens are discussing an informal alliance ahead of the election. This makes a lot of sense. The two parties vote together on most issues (more than they vote with any other parties) and have fundamental principles in common. Either major…
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Cullen puts tax cuts in context
In a speech today to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce Cullen has further differentiated the role of tax cuts under National and Labour. What was interesting about Cullen's speech is that it wasn't really a speech about tax cuts. It was a speech about (much…
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Unemployment at record low (again)
From Stuff: Growing numbers of women in the workforce pushed New Zealand's unemployment rate down to a new record of 3.4 per cent in the December quarter. The rate dropped 0.1 of a percentage point from the September quarter, which itself had been the lowest…
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Key not competent to lead New Zealand
The Sunday Star-Times had an article titled 'Who Is John Key?'. It's remarkable that we're still asking this question a year after Key became National's leader. Even more remarkable is this long article on his history provides no answers. Who is John Key as a…
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TV3 poll presents challenge
The latest TV3 poll comes hot on the heels of Labour MPs gathering for their first caucus meeting of the year. "National can govern alone in the latest 3 News poll at 49 percent. It has shed two points, from what was an artificial high.But…
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So which is it Granny Herald?
Jordan Carter has a great post up on the confusion evident in the Herald's simultaneous endorsement of Republican John McCain for US President - one of the chief sponsors of the American Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 - and their opposition to New Zealand's…
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Spot the difference
I've just had a chance to read Key's speech properly. Call me a nit-picker but I don't reckon it was a "state of the nation" speech at all. Of 4788 words, 3185 were on youth issues - and of these, 2012 words were about youth…
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Mobile democracy
Another release on the state-owned telecommunications company Kordia from Murry McCully this morning which starts: Helen Clark's claim that Kordia's cellphone tower work for the repressive Government of Myanmar (Burma) somehow contributes to democracy in that country is fanciful, says National's Foreign Affairs spokesman, Murray…
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Good luck Winnie
Our thoughts and best wishes go out to MP Luamanuvao Winnie Laban who has just revealed that she has breast cancer. The cancer was apparently discovered early by a routine mamogram and three cycles into the chemo she's in good spirits. The cancer is apparently…
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Tax cuts and the wage gap
News that 28,000 New Zealanders left for Australia last year has Business NZ, the Chamber of Commerce and the National Party predictably calling for tax cuts as the solution to New Zealand's wage gap with Australia. Of course, they know very well that tax cuts…
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Dead rats
This cartoon from Moreu got me thinking... If interest free student loans, Kiwisaver and Kiwibank are dead rats for the Nats, what the f--- are the live ones? The fact that they see these as 'unpleasantries to be endured' surely speaks volumes. UPDATE: Someone's just…
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SST: Nats call in secret donations
The Sunday Star Times reported yesterday that "The National Party pulled in 11th-hour funding from its secret trusts and anonymous donors in a bid to escape new election campaign finance rules". National Party blogger David Farrar dismisses this as "hardly surprising". It'd be a shame…
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Louis Theroux back on TV here tonight
I used to love Weird Weekends - a BBC show that aired here late at night several years ago. It was hosted by Louis Theroux (pictured) and involved him documenting time spent with 'fringe' groups - UFO hunters, professional wrestlers, female bodybuilders and so on.…