The UK general election looks slated to deliver a hung parliament. The SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens have all said they will vote down a Tory Queens Speech. Given the projected numbers, that means that Labour delivers a Queens Speech, gets the support of…
For the background please read the first post in this series: Rachinger on dirty politics. Ben's story has reached an interesting point, check out the new posts (9, 10, 11) on his blog. Ben is producing more evidence, and making claims that can be checked.…
I have thought this for a while. Ever since POAL have spent huge amounts of public money to try and rid the Auckland Port of union labour I have thought that they were out of control and should be replaced. The Standard covered this issue in…
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 …
I'm currently 25,000 words into writing a new book that is particularly taxing on the brain. By the time I get back home I've been thinking hard for around six or seven uninterrupted hours and my brain feels like it has been replaced by jelly!…
California is a climate change "canary in a coal mine" (the links with coal particularly apt). There are many other vulnerable regions around the world of course, but California is particularly important because it is an American canary, and (in general) Americans only care about…
No matter how much Key's more "devoted" spinners would wish, Key's problems aren't going away any time soon. Case in point: Ponytail pulling saga keeps on tugging The waitress at the centre of a ponytail-pulling saga is refusing to cooperate with a private prosecution against…
Missed this in the commotion this week - interesting post from I/S at No Right Turn. National wants to jail people who expose politicians Today, thanks to a post on The Daily Blog, we learned that Prime Minister John Key is a creep. The post…
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 Standarnistas 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.
Stephen Joyce has spent $1,248 keeping a taxi waiting for him in Sydney for nine hours. His excuse was that he saved money by not staying in a hotel and using a crown limo would have cost a similar amount. The excess spend could have…
Some commentary has suggested a clean sweep for the SNP in Scotland in the UK General election. That would entail the party winning 59 seats next week, up from 6 seats in 2010. So, is the Labour Party in Scotland about to be euthanased? Well,…
Ben Rachinger is an ex Young National member and was a big fan of John Key. He's a self professed computer security expert. He's a controversial and polarising figure in social media (claims and counterclaims abound). For some time Ben has been claiming to have…
It is always difficult for a leader visiting or negotiating with a country with a poor human rights record. Domestic expectations demand that issues be "raised" / "discussed", and so it is dutifully claimed. But are they really? If they are I doubt that it…
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 …