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Usually I'm working, so I don't get to see Sunday on TVOne. Lucky me. I flicked over for the very end tonight, just in time to see whathisname with the moustache reading our viewers' comments. There was a comment from Mary that went something like…
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Russel Brown at Media7 doing a light-hearted take on how pathetic Paul Henry has been over time. You really have to ask if this Henry has left early adolescence yet after watching this video. But he does have his supporters with similar attitudes. hat-tip: Brian…
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The Herald's article this morning on how to 'Future-proof your job in the recession' tells Kiwi workers to bend over for your boss and take it; cause that's the only way you're gonna keep your job. No. Workers are in danger of losing their jobs…
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We've all been subjected to mainstream journalists gushing over Key's 'strong leadership' but now it's being put to the test and we're seeing weakness, not strength. Look at how he has dealt with Richard Worth compared to how Clark dealt with ministers. When Helen Clark…
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It wasn't so long ago that National's covert attack organ, the Free Speech Coalition, were squealing about how anti-democratic the last Labour government was, with plenty of snappy billboards like this one. Well now that the tragedy of Fiji's dictatorship is going from bad to…
flip-flop history International john key national/act government
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Trevor Mallard reminded us in comments of another story that illustrates Anne "Chopper" Tolley's great intellect. Soon after she became minister, Tolley had a meeting with the Vice-Chancellors of various universities. She turned to her staff and asked something along the lines of 'how come…
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You might have noticed that there was none of the traditional beat-up over crime when the crime statistics came out last week even though reported crime was up 1.2%. The reason is pretty obvious. The right is on power now, so National, the Sensible Sentencing…
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Rob Fyfe, CEO of Air New Zealand has seen a pay rise of 93%. The Herald reports that before his pay was frozen in July, Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe nearly doubled his pay - his package rising from $1.61 million to $3.1 million. With…
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It appears that John Key and Rodney Hide are participating in an old political action in Auckland - the gerrymander. From a general desire from politically aware Aucklanders to get a more coherent local government for the city, they have constructed a political system for…
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Nassim Nicholas Taleb is one of those rare thinkers who has the priceless ability to express complex ideas in ways that are immediately accessible and concrete. I'm going to shamelessly quote and derive from a very recent article he's written in the Financial Times. It's…
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Today, The Herald relaunched it's 'Democracy under attack' campaign with a front page editorial. The editorial is damning of National/ACT's plan for an Auckland super-council. Here are the main points: "everyone, regardless of their political hue must oppose the removal of representation without consent" "the…
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Yet another twist in the Worthless saga. It turns out that he used his diplomatic passport on the trip to India - which was a 'private' trip. John Key in his usual spineless way has issued another limp 'warning''. It appears that even Worth does…
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One of these things is not like the other... One of these things is not quite the same. Can you guess which one is not like the other... Can you tell me before I finish the game?
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If you're not fleeing the city for the long weekend like every other sane person, Drinking Liberally Wellington is on at the Southern Cross tonight with guest Metiria Turei. What: Drinking Liberally Wgtn When: Tonight, April 9, 2009, from 5.30pm. Where: The Southern Cross, Abel…
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Time: 14 days Jobs created: 0 Built (km): 0 out of 1500 Cost thus far: $0 Govt estimated cost: Not $50m this year, next year, or the year after that. Country status: In recession
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There goes the best leader we've had in a life-time. Was she perfect? No, far from it. There are many things she might have done differently but she led governments that made New Zealand a better place in so many ways. We've heard her government's achievements so many…
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As regular readers will know I've been an active Green supporter since the Alliance left parliament. I've not agreed with all of their policies and over the years I've had serious issues with the more amateur aspects of their campaigns but they have been the…
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So, the Business Roundtable has resorted to calling in Russian oligarchs to aid their campaign against proportional represenation. Here's what "Taranaki-born former Treasury economist-turned-Russian oligarch" Stephen Jennings had to say following last night's Sir Ron Trotter address. MMP, he says, must go. We need political…
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Most people have focused on the utter hypocrisy of National's Anne Tolley flying around Auckland in a helicopter looking at education buildings from the air at the same time as the government says it can't afford to help people falling victim to the recession. I'm…
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The future is starting to look decidedly sci fi. As the UN climate talks in Bonn draw to a close, developed countries have refused to forward an overall mid-term emissions reduction target ( the cuts they're willing to make collectively by 2020). Despite science telling…
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Well, Granny Herald breaks the news: "NZ's murder rate halved in past 20 years": New Zealand's murder rate appears to have almost halved in the past 20 years despite an overwhelming public belief that crime has got worse An overwhelming overwhelming public belief that crime…
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Turns out Richard Worth's not the only one with a passion for flying. Tertiary Education Minister Anne Tolley has been joyriding in helicopters at the taxpayers' expense.
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The press statement from Michael Cullen on his departure from Parliament is here. He will be missed, and probably not just by members of the Labour Party. He has been an outstanding Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. His attention to looking forward to…
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Trans-Tasman reports: the Government will offer former Deputy PM and Finance Minister Michael Cullen the post of Chairman of the Board of NZ Post and its subsidiary Kiwibank, succeeding Jim Bolger who is due to retire this month. Cullen is announcing his retirement from Parliament…
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John Key's government is at the climate change talks in Bonn avoiding doing their part in combating more climate change in the future (along with Russia and the Ukraine). Meanwhile the British Antarctic Survey is reporting that the Wilkins ice shelf is likely to disappear…
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A wag emails us: So Key is keen on offering mortgage holidays like in Aussie. Any bets on how long before English overrules him?
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Not content with lying to the New Zealand public, ACT MP David Garrett has now been busted lying to his own supporters about his Three Strikes Bill. In the email to supporters last Friday: [Garrett] claimed that if the "three strikes" bill had been in…
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Vernon Small suggests that a further 60,000 workers may lose their jobs by next year. So it comes as a shock to read that John Key's response to this latest news is to stick firmly to his: "optimistic and sunny" approach. It's almost like he's…
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Normally I don't put up press releases but this one is special to me. It is about my home electorate and where I moved to in 1964 to start primary school. Labour Party President Andrew Little is calling for nominations for the Mt Albert by-election,…