Whatever people say I am, that's what I'm not. English actor Albert Finney had died, aged 82. Finney's career was astonishing; his breakthrough was in the lead role in 'kitchen sink' drama Saturday Night, Sunday Morning in 1960. Over the next 50 years he starred…
I have never understood the hatred that the right has for Venezuela. The classic was yesterday when Simon Bridges said that Labour was planning to Venezuelaise the tertiary training system. Yep that takes a lot of getting your head around. What is Labour proposing? 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 …
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 …
Text of Jacinda Ardern's state of the nation speech from the Beehive website. Good morning everyone. I want to start by thanking Kirk and his Business New Zealand team for the invitation. It’s good to have this opportunity to join you as another year starts.…
Mike Williams, who still is an astute judge of political events, used to get a bit of stick because he would say "I agree with Matthew" after Matthew Hooton offered up his opinions on Radio New Zealand's political commentary slot. To those naysayers about Mike…
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 …
It was sure refreshing to see the current head of the National Party saying on Waitangi Day that teaching of New Zealand history should be compulsory in the New Zealand curriculum: I think we should have as part of our own New Zealand history course,…
I put up a post five years ago asking what then Labour leader David Cunliffe should say in his state of the nation address. The post provoked rather intense discussion and 425 comments. Tomorrow Jacinda Ardern will do the same although the circumstances will be…
In the gym, a guy was asked why he worked out and his reply was “so that I can drink more”. The funny thing is, it makes a lot of (common) sense, doesn’t it? There’s a whole offsetting industry built around the idea that (environmental)…
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 …
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 …
E nga mana, e nga reo, e rau rangatira ma, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. I hope everyone gets out today to celebrate Waitangi day. For many, many years Waitangi day was a day of tension, when frustration over treaty breaches smashed into…
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 …
British actor Liam Neeson has made an extraordinary confession in an interview with the Independent news site. Promoting his new film, Cold Pursuit, Neeson has claimed that many years ago, he spent a week or more hanging around bars late at night hoping to get…
How Waitangi day is changing. It used to be a place where right wing politicians feared to go. Back in 2004 then opposition leader Don Brash followed up his infamous Orewa speech, where he talked about racial separation and the treaty grievance industry with a…
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 …
Yes you read this right. And credit where is credit is due. And maybe the wingnuts are right and the Herald is secretly a left wing rag although the more likely explanation is that it can and will support a rational argument. Because Heather Du…
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 …
Polymath economist Professor Michael Hudson's latest article is a geopolitical panoramic masterpiece, sparked by outrage at a series of concurrent events on January 31 which he predicts means that 2019 will be the "year of global fracture." Definitely worth reading and thinking about. The…
Yesterday on a bright and sunny day I popped down to Aotea Square to see what the extreme right was up to. There had been a fair amount of social media promotion of the yellow jacket rally and I wondered what sort of turnout they…
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 …
It's summertime. The economy is improving, unemployment is down, major corporations are signing up to be living wage employers and our leader dazzles where ever she goes in the world. And the opposition leader is clearly not cutting it. And his social media team are…
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 …
Hell must be freezing over. This post is to congratulate Westpac on becoming an accredited living wage employer. What is especially interesting is that it was willing to submit to the certification process of a voluntary organisation comprising of representatives of the trade union movement,…