This recent article in the Herald really made me think about the mainstream media and its values. The article was superficially apolitical but it celebrated lots of very staunch National people and rich people and people why are really pretty or who throw really good parties. The…
Bernard Hickey is essential reading. Particularly so as one of the precious few commentators who is prepared to call Key on his bullshit, as he does today in The Herald: Bernard Hickey: Show us the money, John So which Treasury forecasts should we rely on,…
The following is a Guest Post from Robert Guyton and is part of a series appearing over 12 Sundays. Other parts can be seen here. Robert is a sustainability pioneer who along with his family grows the oldest food forest in NZ. A long time organic gardener, permaculturist and heritage orchardist,…
Update: As of 11am not a single story on Mt Roskill appears on the online front pages of either The Herald or Stuff. What a surprise! The Mt Roskill by election was a huge win for Michael Wood, for Andrew Little, and for Labour. Here's…
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An editorial in The Press almost nails the failed state housing sell-off: Editorial: state house sales a failed scheme The Government's sell-off of state housing has not exactly been a runaway success so far. A plan to "diversify" community housing ownership by ensuring at least…
Notice a lot of opinion pieces (etc) putting the boot in to Labour lately? Duncan Garner's effort yesterday was a confused mess. Apparently it is a bad thing that the caucus is unified and there is no leadership challenge. Anyway, the piece has been discussed…
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The father of the youngest victim of Pike River was barred from visiting his son's grave, on his son's birthday - just one day before the Pike River anniversary. Today he tried again. From Checkpoint tonight: https://youtu.be/cv1H6Yi_jBs
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas 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 …
Military institutions have to live in the real world. They are full of practical people. They assess risk. The military assessment of climate change then, should carry some weight: Climate change will stir 'unimaginable' refugee crisis, says military Unchecked global warming is greatest threat to…
According some Legget guy that no one has ever heard of, Labour is moving "too far to the left". Andrew Little responds: https://twitter.com/NewshubPolitics/status/804192749897465856 The kind of unguarded human moment that we seldom see from our politicians. And before the debate starts, I think it's perfectly…
So it turns out Judith Collins is letting organised criminals off the hook as she insists the Police make burglary a priority. If you're the minister, and notice the police aren't managing to cope in one area after successive funding freezes, you can: a) fund…
Good of JK to effectively concede the Mt Roskill by election - John Key expecting National candidate Parmjeet Parmar to lose Mt Roskill by-election "Oh, look the expectations would be that we would lose and that's because we're the underdog and because no incumbent government…
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The Herald's been talking to well-known Labour insider John Key again, who says a loss in the Mt Roskill by-election would be terminal for Andrew Little's leadership... Funny how no-one on the left has mentioned this... Meanwhile, (and the above comment was in no way…
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas 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 …
The Mt Roskill by-election is between Michael Wood and Parmjeet Parmar. But as far as who's the competition to take the vacant MP spot in Parliament? Well, Parmjeet is already a list MP, so it would be National List candidate Misa Fia Turner. She thinks…
Last time I wrote about him, I gave a nice soft ‘well done’ to outgoing President Obama. Here’s the ‘but’. As the US heads towards Presidential investiture on January 20th, we get to the stuff Obama made worse or left in the international Too Hard…
In the 12 months before the last election I was amazed at National's ability to clear out the dead wood. Over a short period they had a mass exodus of MPs with little public fuss and no fighting, at least on the surface. Such superstars…
Interesting piece on Stuff yesterday: Young westerners across the world losing faith in democracy - even in New Zealand ... But new research reveals our faith in democracy is faltering in a similar pattern to one seen overseas. The crucial chart: Update: Treat this data…
Hey first time home buyers - National has a warning for you: Don't take on too much debt, govt warns homeowners The government is again warning first home buyers to be careful and not to take on too much debt. That shrieking sound you hear…
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