Autonomous sanctions imposed on Iran and Venezuela by the US are expressly designed to drive whole populations into poverty to bring about regime change. They are sociopathic. Based on its values, The National Party wants to make such sanctions New Zealand's policy. Extraodinary! Simon Bridges…
This post is a place for positive discussion of the future. An Open Mike for ideas, solutions and the discussion of the possible. The Big Picture, rather than a snapshot of the day’s goings on. Topics rather than topical. We’d like to think it’s…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
If we thought the devastation and mess caused by a flood ripping through the old dump at Fox Glacier village was bad, just wait until a decent storm punches through the old dump of New Zealand’s fifth largest city on its coastline. It's getting close.…
We are the frogs in the pot. We’re being incrementally desensitized via one small cruelty after the next. This is how countries slide from decency into committing wholesale atrocities against minorities. This is what the period before a genocide looks like.…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
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 …
Matt Blomfield has brought the Whaleoil site from the official assignee. This fulfills a long held wish of, not only Matt, but a whole pile of people that this arsehole-run paid-for defamation lying site have damaged over the years. Chapter 27 of the Margie Thompson's…
Coalition Government is a complex thing. Having to manage relationships between three disparate parties and over 60 members of parliament would be more than enough to age you early. Overall Jacinda Ardern and Labour have managed things well. But there has been the occasional glitch. …
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
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 …
With yesterday's announcement by the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates by 1%, some are suggesting that the government should embark on a massive public works spree to stimulate the economy while increasing national debt at low interest rates. This RBNZ move is by some…
The Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty between the United State and Russia signed by Reagan and Gorbachev in 1987 formally ended on August 2nd. On Sunday the new US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper dined privately with Winston Peters. Before and during his trip to the…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Yesterday Advantage wrote about whether stopping flying had much meaning in a climate change world, especially for New Zealand. Maybe flying accounts for 5% of global carbon emissions, maybe 2%. It’s hardly a major Leaders at the forefront of Climate Action say flying isn’t just…
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 …
A conversation in Daily Review last night about transitioning marginal farmland away from stock prompted this post about the values of wilding pines. This is a 20 year difference: Robert Guyton made these points, ... the way ahead is forward into trees, not back…
Activist Greta Thunberg is attending a United Nations global warming summit in New York, and will get there by boat not airplane. We often hear about the hypocrisy of Green MPs and green activists burning jet fuel to have a meeting about lowering carbon emissions.…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
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 …
Last Thursday we had this from the leader of the opposition. https://twitter.com/simonjbridges/status/1024442638731112448 But it was fake news. https://twitter.com/IainLG/status/1158548864263081985 https://twitter.com/nzlabour/status/1158547475474472960 Neale Jones summaries it well. https://twitter.com/nealejones/status/1158543484309004288 Maybe National should cheer the reduction in the unemployment rate rather than present fake news that it has gone up.…
A slight rewrite of an ad currently on Parliament's careers website. The National Party Leader's Office has an exciting opportunity for an experienced social and digital media expert and crisis manager to lead their high performing team. You will manage a team of eight creative…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
https://twitter.com/dan_brunskill/status/1158361730826657792 Yesterday evening police suddenly increased their numbers at Ihumātao and proceeded to block some of the land protectors in place and isolate them from others on the site. SOUL put out a call for people to come to the land and protect it, and…
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 …
It has been a desperately bad couple of days in the United States of America with the 249th and 250th mass shooting of the year occurring. The 249th had significant links to the Christchurch shooting with the shooter claiming inspiration from the events in Christchurch,…
Sometimes I wonder if our race relations are any better than that in Australia. In March this year the Australian High Court ordered the Northern Territory government to pay $2.35m compensation in compensation for loss of native land rights. This was for 53 acts…
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …