According to a piece written by Nicolas Stern for The Guardian Human activities are currently emitting about 42bn tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, and at that rate the carbon budget – allowing us a 50-50 chance of keeping warming to 1.5C – would be…
There has been some push back against the Government's light rail proposal for Dominion Road from some unlikely sources. Councillor Mike Lee, former NZ First candidate and public transport enthusiast Jon Reeves and others have formed a new organisation NZ Transport 2050 Incorporated to advocate…
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 …
There’s been a fair bit of sometimes nasty back and forth over Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court appointment. But the bit I’m not quite understanding is the apparent propensity of some people to believe that the better among us will tend to rise to positions of…
Over the next week we should learn the results of National's leak inquiry. That is unless they determine the release of the results is not in National Ltd™'s best interests and they calculate that not releasing the results is less damaging than releasing them. Refusing to…
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 …
As reported in The Herald's "entertainment section", Justine Sachs and Nadia Abu-Shanab have been ordered to pay $12 000 compensation to three plaintiffs who sought damages after Lorde cancelled dates in Israel. The sum includes a component for causing 'moral and emotional injury' to the three…
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 …
For decades climate scientists have predicted that global warming will cause warmer seas, stronger storms and increased participation. And in America, land of the free and the brave and led by a climate change denier, there have been two recent storms which suggest that this…
From the City Vision website: Power account holders in the Auckland Isthmus and Manukau should have by now received a letter with a postal voting form from Entrust. Auckland needs a team at Entrust (formerly the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust) who are committed to working…
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 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 debates around the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement alerted many New Zealanders to the far-reaching scope of contemporary free trade and investment agreements, their potentially negative impacts and fetters on national regulation, the inadequate protection for te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the lack of participation of…
A good leak is something to behold. The media trumpets the news that has been leaked and the leakee looks bemused and confused. And the leaker, who knows who they are? The media cycle is dominated by the news. Reporters scurry around in increasingly smaller…
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 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 …
National seem to be determined to transform itself from a large party into a smaller party such are the issues it is focussing on. First it was Tahrs. Kiwis' god given right to hunt these imported beasts was going to be taken away. Or so…
There is a long a proud history of musicians adding their weight to the Democratic cause in the United States, but this one is about as on-message as you can get. Taylor Swift is amplifying to 100 decibels the great feminist revival occurring right now,…
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 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 …
Remember the $11.5 billion hole that Stephen Joyce and National said Labour was going to leave the country with? Well the 2017/18 financial books have been completed and released and the Government's surplus was $2.4 billion greater than forecast. From Tova O'Brien at Stuff: The…
Website Bellingcat claims to have identified the second spy involved in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal. He's Alexander Mishkin, a doctor working for Russia’s GRU intelligence agency. The website said it had tracked down Mishkin’s real identity after being given a scanned copy of his…
If, like me, you are among the poorest half of the population in NZ, then we could get together today and emit zero carbon as from tomorrow morning and...the reduction in NZ's emissions would stack up to about 10%. If, unlike me, you are a…
The culture wars have recently erupted with a vengeance. On the day that the IPCC has confirmed that the world is running out of time to do something to try and preserve what we have National and associated entities have complained that fuel prices are…
Get ready, according to the AA, for petrol at $3 a liter for Christmas. Taxes make up about 43% of the cost. Anti tax petitions are circulating. We also need to get ready for James Shaw's Zero Carbon bill, with its measured impact on electricity…
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 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 …
One of the supposedly most contentious things this Government has done is take steps to stop offshore oil drilling. Shock horror, there was no consultation, it will cost lots of jobs and it is one of the reasons that business confidence is plummeting. Although stories…
The recent passing of Penny Bright got me thinking about her tireless and fearless fights. Other people came to my mind too, e.g. Helen Kelly, Lecretia Seales, and Nelson Mandela. Some people talk about their “calling”, others mention “purpose” or “dream” or “faith” (not necessarily…
It would fit the karma of a leftie universe if the United States was now suffering from its political choices. But it’s the reverse: the United States economy is roaring and President Trump is starting to be rewarded for delivering what he promised. The United…