Remember how I asked who was funding Tim Shadbolt's campaign to "bring down the government"? Turns out the Southland Times was interested too and they've found out his move to deliberately break electoral law is being propped up by the Talley brothers, who appear to…
Today's Age gives a few insights into "constituency matters" the Brethren discussed with John Howard from 2003 to 2006, the last about the same time they were commissioning private investigators to dig dirt on our Helen. Support for George Bush and the war in Iraq…
From Time: A lot is riding on the the world's cheapest car. In the words of Ratan Tata, chairman of the company behind the upstart econobox, India's "People's Car" will be a "safe, affordable, all weather vehicle for a family which is today traveling on…
Yesterday's supposed scandal over an email exhange between Michael Cullen and a National Party activist was an absurd piece of political activism from the Herald. Recently the paper has been running almost daily attack articles on the government, but this was surely scraping the bottom…
Move over Mediawatch. Thesproutandthebean have outed more biased reporting in Granny Herald: the abysmal attempt at rationalising the retention of a monarchy in this herald opinion piece was made interesting by what was omitted rather than included. the authors were Sean Palmer and Simon O'Connor…
The Employers and Manufacturers Association has a new employment survey out today that aims to portray personal grievances as "way out of hand" and add momentum to their ongoing campaign with the National Party to remove the right of workers to appeal against unfair dismissal…
No Ordinary Sun Tree let your arms fall: raise them not sharply in supplication to the bright enhaloed cloud. Let your arms lack toughness and resilience for this is no mere axe to blunt nor fire to smother. Your sap shall not rise again to…
Green MP Nandor Tanczos announced today that he will not be putting his name forward as a candidate for this year's election. Here's the press release.
People often ask us at The Standard why we don't post under our real names. Tonight Whaleoil has provided a damn good answer to that question. He's got a new creep who goes under the moniker "Steady Eddy" and he's decided to show his chops…
The Herald has an interesting article about shift work posted today pointing out the impact shift work has on workers' families. The article focuses on bus drivers - who have faced some of the biggest attacks on their conditions over the last 17 years. Auckland…
Now I know many of us are still in holiday mode for awhile longer but did it strike anyone else as a little odd to see Mr Key speak out against someone earning their living (presumably) - wanting crab pots banned at his exclusive beach…
It seems the cats at newzblog have decided to bring our old mate Robinsod on board as a blogger and his first shot is at Farrar and Whale. I've spent more than a few nights on the booze with 'Sod and the guy's pretty smart…
Paul from The Fundy Post has done a rather humorous review of John Key's holiday home in Success Court, Omaha Beach, as featured in the Herald on Sunday. Suffice to say he's not impressed: It is difficult to know where to begin. Here is a…
While I've been away some regular left-leaning commenters here at The Standard and elsewhere have banded together to start NewZblog, a new Kiwi blog that describes itself as "a fine blend of politics with a left twist". So a big welcome aboard to Red Bus,…
I see Shadbolt is back on the blackmail bandwagon again with today's Herald claiming he's aiming to break the Electoral Finance Act (though I'm still not entirely sure why as the last time I checked the EFA and the EFTS system shared nothing other than…
Well, I saw my first Farrar billboard in the real two days ago and I gotta tell you I laughed. I was with a companion who is politically aware and has a pretty good idea about the EFB and when I pointed it out to…
I won't try and add anything much to the many, many words of tribute on this, the sad death of Sir Ed Hillary except to quote what Jack Nicholson says to Helen Hunt in As Good As It Gets: "You make me want to be…
Spotted in the NY Times (6 Jan 2008) this new gadget looks like it takes the concept of open source one step further (article has some photos too). "HACKERS, welcome! Here are detailed circuit diagrams of our products â€" modify them as you wish." That's…
For those of you following the presidential primaries this opinion piece by Dan Balz in the Washington Post (9 Jan) provides some interesting observations on the Clinton/Obama result which flew in the face of polls and political pundits: "Hillary Clinton's stunning victory here on Tuesday…
In a front-page article about New Year's honours focussing on expatriate Kiwi Owen Glenn's contribution to the Labour Party, Auckland University, and numerous other New Zealand charities, the Herald stated that wealthy American billionaire Julian Robertson, "who contributed to National last election", is now banned…
Some years ago Mayor Shadbolt spent a week in Mt Crawford prison for refusing to pay a fine for saying "bullshit" in public. Now our intrepid hero says he wants to break the Electoral Finance Act, but can't because he says it would be the…
Cyber-Santa came a little late to The Standard this year but we're certainly not complaining - evidently we've got a New Year's present instead. He and the techno-elves have moved us to a brand spanking new server cluster that should give us plenty of breathing…