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Felix Marwick, in comments at Public Address, raises some concerning behaviour: I was trying to draw a distinction between what I regard as genuine blogging; opinion and news gathering involving individual research vs blatant plagiarism dressed up as opinion/news. Forgive me if I get a…
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I reckon my theory that the tobacco industry's stupid 'agree/disagree' ad campaign is actually just a way of chucking millions at cash-strapped media outlets to buy their silence (and even backing from Granny) has been confirmed. By one simple fact. The new TV ad, which…
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My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere (no linkwhoring). This week:…
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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John Roughan has a whinge about Campbell Live's coverage of the Christchurch school closures in today's Herald. Poor John pines for the days when Paul Holmes was broadcasting rightwing bullsh*t nationwide every evening. How I miss Paul Holmes. He had the rare ability to empathise…
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When parties that claim to have a social conscience end up propping up right-wing governments it doesn't usually end well. Here is the Lib Dems leader Nick Clegg, apologising to his supporters for breaking a core promise. He has been subtitled for honesty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_3Bqh8ZBAg Background…
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Welcome to Poverty watch, a weekly update on the National government's lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. A lot of background issues and links are set out in Poverty Watch one two and three. In related news this…
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Watch this clip, starting at 45s for 15s. John Key on the impoverished Chatham Islands, holding a huge crayfish. He says 'big as a horse, freshly cooked, $80 a kilo.' He kisses the cray, then looks at the camera and says 'jealous?' Christ, what a…
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So the first 'ropey' National Standards data is slipping out. It may not bear comparison, and not be moderated or indeed standardised, but Hekia Parata can now divulge the great wisdom that National's StandardsTM provides: In shock news, apparently Maori and Pasifika children aren't doing…
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Clean green 100% pure New Zealand? Or the only nation in the world to vote against measures to stop the extinction of the world's rarest dolphins? The Hector's dolphins in the seas surrounding John Key's electorate are the world's rarest, and their close relatives the…
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John Key is one kind of Wizard all right - a Wizard of Oz. He can make people disappear there. Duncan Garner rips in to him: It's a long way from what John Key was saying in 2008 - when he stood in Wellington's 36,000…
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Weekend social is for non political chat. What's on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no aggro, why can't we all just get along?
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Grant Robertson, in the House speaking on Paula Bennett’s “Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill - First Reading”, gave an impassioned speech. He said many things that are similar to what I said here, about social obligations and a mutually beneficial social…
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From No Right Turn: Charter schools in the UK As everyone knows by now, thanks to ACT, our government is experimenting with charter schools, using the children of Christchurch and South Auckland as guinea pigs in their ideological experiment. That's bad, but it could be…
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The ever forward looking and even-handed Herald devotes its editorial to attacking Labour for supporting Winston Peters' Bill to make some small changes to the Reserve Banks' objectives to bring them more in line with Australia's. Leaving aside the fact that the Herald hasn't attacked…
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National is celebrating the creation of 1300 jobs (only 300 permanent) with a prison. How many more prisons would they have to build to reverse the increase in unemployment under their watch and create 65,000 permanent jobs? Only 217. And you know what the anthem…
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I'm puzzled by the timeline on the Banks scandal. The police report is dated 03 July 2012 (end of the Executive Summary, page 10 of the pdf). Details were available to the media on 26 July. On 31 July there was an interesting exchange in…
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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So the Nats came up with this fabulous populist idea of boot camps for our kids. Evidence said it wouldn't work, but there's a lot of old National folk out there that would like to bring back conscription, put some discipline in our youth etc…
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Another great Tom Scott cartoon today:
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Anyone notice that the Right's arguments against ownership of water - apart from being a willful confusion of ownership in rights to water, which is what iwi are actually inserting and which are clearly enjoyed by a range of people under our law at present,…
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Does anyone have the number for John Key's supplier? Because when he answered a question in the House yesterday about poverty and low pay by saying that in his paradise, Planet Key, there would be no toilets and no jobs, my first thought was 'man,…
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David Clark's private member's Bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 / hour was voted down at its first reading in Parliament last night. The Nats are repeating the lie that increasing the minimum wage costs jobs - no it doesn't. The vote was…
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National says that opening up publicly-owned ports to the transparency that all our other publicly-owned organisations are subject to would be "taking New Zealand backwards". Accountability is "inefficient" (failed port management hiding behind the lack of OIA coverage isn't). Apparently, having to answer a few…
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Well it's official. The government has no interest in allowing you to know how your money is being spent. That's been made clear in their opposition to Darien Fenton's port transparency bill - a bill designed simply to make publicly owned ports subject to the…
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I think that Kim Dotcom is actually a very savvy operator. Turning up to Parliament on the second day of questions (not today, when Key won't be in the House) was inspired. It ensured another day of coverage. Then, his words: "It's a very fragile…
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Over the last week, the government’s off-world set of distorted realities has come to the foreground: those of “Planet John Key” and “Planet Paula”. This is a reversal of National’s spin lines of attack against (so-called) “Planet Labour”, most noticeably in Question Time in Parliament.…
brand key child welfare Economy jobs john key Metiria Turei national national/act government paula bennett same old national