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In her inimitable style, The Queen of Thorns has a go at Chris Trotter, Labour, readers of this site, and even poor old Garth George explaining why New Zealand's abortion laws are shite. As usual she makes her point in a style that resembles a…
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Key was full of excuses and vague promises for Christchurch on Q+A. He ruled out a levy and indicated the rebuilding would be funded out of savage cuts to our public services. He stuck to his script. Maybe the earpiece he was wearing helped. I…
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John Hartevelt is shocked by National's decision to pay for the rebuilding of AMI Stadium's turf and financing flights to Auckland for Cantabrians with tickets for the Rugby World Cup games that have been moved: "It's not just the people of Christchurch shaken up by…
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US, UK and French forces have begun attacks on government targets in Libya. French planes flew reconnaissance yesterday and fired the first shots today. They have destroyed a number of armoured vehicles and tanks. UK submarines have attacked air defence targets and their planes have…
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Here's my prediction for 20 March 2011. By the end of the day, Ken Ring's 15 minutes of fame will be over. All of my posts for March will finish with this note. While life goes on as usual outside Christchurch, let our thoughts be…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Who will rebuild Christchurch? Of course the physical work will be done by skilled tradespeople, thousands of them, over many years. My question is about who will plan, oversee and administer the process. Even if you believe (I don't) that the invisible hand of the…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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If you're like me, you just got home and were watching Te Karere with your nightcap. When it ended they cut to BBC with a live press conference of Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa (awesome name) who declared a unilateral ceasefire and called for talks…
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Well-known Wellington artist Bob Kerr has produced a series of paintings on "The Three Wise Men of Kurow", Davidson the teacher, McMillan the doctor and Nordmeyer the clergyman; three friends whose conversations in the small South Island town in the 1930's laid the foundations for…
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I wrote and scheduled this post last night and literally at the same time as it went up, the UN Security Council voted for the No Fly Zone, which authorises air attacks on ground forces. I'm still worried it's too late. The Arab League turned…
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Firstly: a quick thank-you to The Standard for letting me blog here. Secondly: today our thoughts are (still) with Christchurch and the difficulties those there face. Especially those whose friends and relatives are still on the missing list. . I was going to have my…
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There's a large number of reports coming out of Christchurch of businesses that have been demolished without Civil Defence consulting with the owners, as is procedure, and giving them a chance to recover vital equipment and records first. Disturbingly, some of these demolitions seem to…
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A memorial service will be held in Hagley Park today to pay tribute to victims of the February quake. Events begin at 10:30am, with the service starting at 12:30, and two minutes silence at 12.51pm. TVNZ has a good page on practical details here. I…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Reports from up and down the coast of Japan have commented, almost as an aside observation, that the roads out of towns were essentially gridlocked as the tsunami approached. Now I'd guess that a lot of people will conclude that roads came to a stand…
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In American football, there's a move called the 'Hail Mary pass' - throw the ball down field and pray. That's what filling the Fukushima reactors with sea-water has been described as, a Hail Mary pass. It just doesn't seem to be coming off. Reactor 3…
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With so much going on in terms of large scale disasters at the moment, it is easy to lose track of the stories of a mere individuals. But there are two individuals whose stories should not be forgotten. They are facing the full might and…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Me and others: So how come the government seems to have no plan for rebuilding Christchurch or desire to get one? Righties: Well, um, Key's awesome and, anyway, what's your plan, smart-arse ? Me: I'm not the government, rebuilding Christchurch isn't my job. But here's…
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As I predicted in this post last year, productivity has risen sharply in the latest stats but for all the wrong reasons.The Herald gushes "NZ employers squeeze more out of fewer workers" but that's fundamentally wrong. We're getting less out of even fewer workers. "Labour…
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Bill Maher takes a swipe at the 'Undercover Boss' and 'Secret Millionaire'. "TV used to give Americans the reverse fantasy: what if you, normal person, were a millionaire. Now it says, oh who are you kidding? You're lucky to hold your job frying chicken parts.…
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This week's Sunday Star-Times was full of stories about unaffordable food, housing and fuel affecting the country's urban dwellers, nowhere more so than in Auckland. Meanwhile the shortage of housing after the earthquake promises huge rent and house price hikes for Christchurch, assuming the locals…
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Every day brings a new disaster from the Fukushima No 1 nuclear power plant. Four reactors have now experienced an explosion and/or fire and/or partial meltdown. Yesterday saw the first significant radiation release, from Reactor 4. It's a complex situation, so I've tried to summarise…
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I don't think that anyone who has been paying attention to events in Christchurch could seriously have expected the city to host a major sporting event like the RWC within a few short months. The city is trashed, the stadium is trashed, no one can…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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There's been increasing concern over the past week or two that not only has the government failed to communicate its plan for the Christchurch recovery, it doesn't actually have one, and isn't particularly concerned about getting one. Yesterday in the House, Labour took Key to…
crime Economy im/migration john key labour national Parliament phil goff
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Sometimes we take comments here and put them up as posts. Here's one from long time contributor vto: How much can people take when it comes to one disaster after another? A venture into the CBD to check on some decades of work brought an…
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No Right Turn says all that is required on another of Nationals aspirational failures. For the past year, the government has been talking a lot about "boosting science and innovation" as the "keys to economic growth". Today, we saw the reality behind that talk, with news that…