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I think Granny Herald must have shares in Infratil, based on her rubbish editorial today: Particular fervour is reserved for private-sector participation in this sector, perhaps because water is one of life's necessities. Rarely is it conceded that, in reality, it occupies the same utility…
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Strange mea culpa from Don Brash on the foreshore and seabed in today's Dom. He doesn't go as far as to apologise for National's cynical and deliberate attempt to ignite racial conflict in the leadup to the 2005 election, but he does admit that National…
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Talk about bereft of ideas, the currency is yo-yoing, the housing bubble is re-inflating, wages are falling, jobs are still being lost in large numbers, the oil price is back above $80 but what's the Finance Minister Bill English spending his time on? Some good…
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Remember John Key's Nanny State rant?: I've had nine years of being told what lightbulb I can screw into the house, what shower I can take, what food I can eat, what things I can do, what thoughts I am allowed to have. Ahh, those…
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Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply. Over to you...
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'Lord Ashcroft of Belize' facing eviction as country turns on him. This is the heading in an article in today's Observer. It's worth a read. Some excerpts: So extensive are his interests, and so arcane some of his methods, that many Belizeans believe Ashcroft owns…
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Matt McCarten writes a fine opinion piece in today's Herald. He hits four main points: 1. The neo-liberal dismantling of NZ's egalitarian society ideal in the 80's and 90's. 2. The new subservience of the State to corporate interests. 3. Dramatic increases in productivity over…
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One of the many problems facing people who want to grow popular awareness of matters ecological is that for the large part, it's bloody depressing if you start to get the reality of it. So I imagine director Cameron Russell sold the pitch for this…
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Estimated number of US troops now in Afghanistan: 68,000. Number of troops US General Stanley McChrystal is currently asking for in addition to that: 40,000. Number of troops during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan at its height that resulted in defeat: 108,000.
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I read a fun piece by Charlie Brooker in The Guardian recently: There's too much stuff. We live in a stuff-a-lanche. I'm fairly certain I recently passed a rather pathetic tipping point, and now own more unread books and unwatched DVDs than my remaining lifespan…
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We're trying a daily "Open mike". This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and for any discussion following up on the comments. Over to you...
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The Unite Halloween-themed $15 minimum wage march went well yesterday. Looks like there were a fair number of people there. Pity there's no single good shot of the whole crowd (hint for protest photographers) but John Darroch managed to get some pretty cool snaps. Here…
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A range of interesting political/economic comment today in the Herald: Fran O'Sullivan joins the left-wing and groups like Federated Farmers in calling on the Key Government to sort out monetary policy. At the moment, the Reserve Bank is tasked solely with controlling inflation with interest…
economy kiwisaver national/act government superannuation unemployment
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Amongst all the puffery from the right-wing commentators in the Herald today, a very interesting piece - interviews with ordinary people from New Zealand's most marginal electorate, New Plymouth. she voted National because it was "time for a change". "I'm quite impressed with John Key.…
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A few months ago, John Key said of ministers taking their partners travelling on the taxpayer dollar: "I've told them if they want to take their partner, they can do it, but they pay for it'. So he must be furious that Rodney Hide, David…
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This just in: A picture of stage one of PM John Key's personal solution to NZ's recession - the cycleway to nowhere! OK, just kidding. It's one of the images from The Guardian's photo show on "Crap cycle lanes". View them and weep, fellow cyclists...…
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We're trying a daily "Open mike". This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and for any discussion following up on the comments. Over to you...
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If you watched the media coverage of last week's Council of Trade Unions conference you'll have walked away thinking it was about John Key telling teachers to take a pay cut and some woman threatening to throw a shoe at him. Entirely missed was the…
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One of our commenters prism asked a good question on Open Mike the other day: The honeymoon for the Nats stretches on and I'm puzzled as to why? It would be interesting to hear what actual policies and actions are perceived as so good let's…
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Bill English claims (echoes of another Bill!) that he did not have pecuniary relations with his family trust: "I didn't have a pecuniary interest in the trust, I never have had, I don't now and I don't have any other interests in it." According to…
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The Campaign for a Living Wage will be taking to the streets of Auckland's CBD tonight to demand a minimum wage of 15 dollars an hour and an end to poverty wages. The theme is Halloween trick or treat. If you want, you can dress…
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I'm sure you noticed Hide's latest shenanigans - getting his partner taxpayer subsidised international flights despite Key's directive not to. Key (surprise, surprise) is 'comfortable' with this because Hide used Parliamentary not Ministerial funds. Hide was taking a jaunt around London and Toronto to see other 'Supercities' close-up (unfortunately, he…
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Yes Mr and Ms Work-Life-Balance, science is on your side. Last month the New Scientist summarised research from Utah that showed workers were happier, took fewer sick days, and were more energy efficient when working four day weeks instead of five. The full results of…
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At this point it seems a bit pointless coming to work this morning. I'm sitting in a dark office with the cheeping of UPS's (uninterruptible power supplies) and ozone as the batteries discharge keeping servers alive. The entire crew are sitting around waiting for the…
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National's favourite public servant (who got himself a nice pay rise), John Whitehead, has been offering dire warnings of the future. $2 trillion in debt by 2050! Something must be done! Naturally, the Treasury has an extreme right-wing solution - cut everything: cut health -…
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Check out the invite we got to 'Plain English'. Incredible. I didn't even know until watching the Campbell Live story that David Cunliffe and Roger Douglas will be in the debate too. They're not even mentioned in the invite. But English is and there's a picture of…
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We're trying a daily "Open mike". This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and for any discussion following up on the comments. Over to you...
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Now TVNZ is pulling the Bill English ad, I notice the web ad is also gone. In it's place is something so vapid that I pray it was knocked together by a new minted marketing grad in ten minutes ('Do you feel guilty looking for another job when you've already…
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According to Radio NZ the Western Bay of Plenty District Council is declaring a ban on smoking outdoors. The ban covers 30 beaches including the popular holiday spots of Waihi Beach, Maketu and Athenree - and the towns of Katikati and Te Puke. Signs will…
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Some highlights from Sue Bradford's valedictory speech. We'll link to the full version once the Greens get it up. Update: Frogblog has a clip of the whole speech here.