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Nice to see that Russell Brand’s political thought is evolving. In contrast to his stance on a fairly recent interview with Jeremy Paxman where he took aim at the entire concept of democracy, he’s now more targeted insofar as he now states:- “... I’m a…
democratic participation drugs electoral systems Environment global warming Parliament political alternatives
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Fairfax yesterday posted this article where business high fliers were asked what they thought political parties should be talking about this election year. I prepared this post as a fictional interview of ordinary people and their thoughts on what the parties should be talking about…
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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 …
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The latest Fairfax Ipsos poll result has attracted attention in Open Mike. Vern Small has interpreted the results as suggesting that National could win 64 seats. He has anticipated that NZ First will not be in Parliament which I think is dangerous. Like all polls…
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Another week and more Dotcom related revelations have occurred. Winston Peters has revealed that he did meet with Dotcom three times and asked how Key could have known this. It seems that the story was broken publicly by the Herald gossip columnist Rachel Glucina. She…
blogs dpf greens john key labour national newspapers russel norman
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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 …
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Stuff has an astounding interview with John Key where he reveals he has regular catch-ups with Cameron Slater. We've always known that there were close ties between National and the abomination that is Whaleoil but now we know that the ties go right to the…
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So, the PM is hinting that his tips about Winston Peters visiting Kim Dotcom 3 times, came from Cameron Slater. This is the same Slater who said on TV 3's The Nation that: Slater: Well, Auckland politics is like where any politics is, in that…
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The original post appeared here on Polity. Following my post on Monday that the Prime Ministers of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden don't have John Key's "moral mandate," I have done some more digging. I wanted to know whether a leader really does have a kind of "first…
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Local bodies makes points about the changes in the school system over the years. The nett effect over decades has been to force the inter-generational inequality that a good school system is meant to prevent. The type of school system that this government favours appears…
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"Rewarding excellent Teachers", on the face of it looks like a good idea. Who doesn't think those who achieve results at a higher level, take on more responsibility or go the "extra mile" should not be paid more. Unfortunately, performance pay, and rewarding the "top"…
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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 …
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No Right Turn points out the pointlessness of NAct's charter schools by the biggest example. They're getting the public schools to do the work and clipping the ticket for profit. National's charter schools are predicated on the idea that the public education system is doing…
education Hekia parata national/act government same old national you couldn't make this shit up
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The Salvation Army's latest State of the Nation Report: "Striking a Better Balance" (2014) has been the subject of some intense debate from the right and from the left. On the surface, it just appears to be a different interpretation, and hard to tell which…
benefits child abuse child welfare employment housing Metiria Turei news paula bennett poverty spin the praiseworthy and the pitiful
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We can go on subsidising the crippling pollution of the ag sector, argues Dave Hansford, or we could use that money instead to bring about urgently-needed change. Last month, I was walking over the Pont Vieux – the old stone bridge that links the French…
Economy Environment farming farming Steven Joyce sustainability water
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The question I'd like the media to ask is "Where did John Key get his information that Winston visited DotCom three times?" Most likely source it seems to me is the GCSB. I think Winston may have a point about his right to privacy. The…
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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 …
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This post previously ran on The Daily Blog Jordan Williams got quoted extensively by the idiot media on friday as a result of a APNZ newswire. As a spokesfool for the self appointed "Taxpayer's Union" he has placed himself into the idiot level with this statement on…
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Shane Warbrooke wrote recently to the Government under the Official Information Act 1981 and asked the following: "Dear Prime Minister, Could you please provide any evidence to disprove the theory that Mr John Key is in fact a David Icke style shapeshifting reptilian alien ushering humanity towards…
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A recent announcement suggests that Kim Dotcom's Internet party may have struck difficulties. Dotcom is a canny operator and he realises that by amassing anything short of 5% of the vote and failing to win an electorate seat, both of which are likely, all he…
act david cunliffe election 2014 greens labour national russel norman
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The original of this post is here at Polity. As readers will know, Kim Dotcom has promised to wind up his party if it isn't polling 5% by the time the ballots are printed, and then throw his (considerable) resources behind another party of his…
accountability activism democratic participation political alternatives Politics
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Yesterday No Right Turn put up this observation. Today Labour tried to put forward a Parliamentary motion calling on the government to release the draft text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement before signing it, on the simple democratic grounds that the public deserved to know…
accountability International labour national Parliament Politics you couldn't make this shit up
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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 …
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An interesting article by Colin James in today's ODT on the living wage proposals and how lifting wages may have wider economic benefits. He starts with the example of the supermarket boycott of low-wage New Zealand produce in Australia: New Zealand wages are around 30…
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There's been an excellent Insight on Radio NZ on Sunday / Monday, looking at the income gap and the consequences for our society - the loss of social mobility, the loss of health (mental & physical) for all, the increased incarceration, drug use etc…
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Modern western governments have been about essentially, two things. On the one hand they have ensured an environment favourable to the operation of the market economy. On the other they have been known to serve the interests of citizens by protecting us from the worse…
capitalism climate change community democracy democratic participation economy Environment global warming political alternatives sustainability
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Local bodies writes on the way that National has been concentrating their personal attacks at the Greens. It is a pretty typical display by National in any election year. But you get the impression they're going to seriously be dumpster diving for dirt this year…
greens Judith Collins Metiria Turei national Politics same old national
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Is this election year going to be the most vicious in recent history? There’s always a bit of argy-bargy in politics, and sometimes it’s personal. Despite the best of intentions, it’s impossible for people’s families and backgrounds to never be part of the conversation, because…
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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 …
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Something that doesn't seem to have hit the newspapers here, but may turn out to have been significantly affecting little ol' NZ is a growing forex scandal, mainly in the UK (as the centre of forex trading). The boss of the UK's financial regulator has…