' ♯ ♬ ♪ . . . $12 million Saudi sheep farm $11 million dollar apartment ten Northland bridges nine bills through urgency $80 billion dollars debt Seven long years Six percent unemployment Five Flag options $45 million Novopay Three $6,000 sofas two toy sheep,…
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 …
It has been announced that the unfortunate experiment with Serco running Mount Eden Prison is now to end. From the Herald: Private prison operator Serco's contract to run the troubled Mt Eden Corrections Facility will not be renewed. The company's contract is up for review, and…
Yesterday saw the release of the Obmudsman's long (and long awaited) review of the operation of the Official Information Act (OIA). RNZ reported: Govt agencies on notice over OIA The Chief Ombudsman is putting government agencies on notice for their compliance with the Official Information…
' Julian Robertston, a US billionaire who made his money with hedge fund Tiger Management, Merryl Lynch's largest customer when John Key was working there, is the man behind privatisation trojan horse Teach First (NZ). ' ' Robertson is well known in New Zealand. He…
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Thank the deity of your choice for that. Judge Harrison has found and courageously, in a timely manner, corrected his mistake. The problem for a judge being requested to give any injunctive order is that they only hear one side of the argument - that of…
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 …
American politics has entered a new level of craziness. Donald J Trump may have reached peak craziness or peak political opportunism with his call to ban all Muslims from entering America. So that you can appreciate the special crazy nature of his statement here it is:…
So Paula Bennett is now Minister in charge of Climate Change issues. Like everyone else I thought Simon Bridges would be given this very important portfolio. After all he is Minister for Transport and Energy and apart from agriculture these are the sectors where issues…
Yesterday Tracy Watkins gave us a classic example of the rewriting of history to suit one's agenda: Why John Key opened the door again to Judith Collins ... But it had become increasingly difficult for Key to justify keeping Collins out of Cabinet after she…
This post is essentially a distillation of two presentations given by Kevin Anderson at the Earth 101 gathering in Iceland earlier this year. You can view them here and here I highly recommend that you do as they are packed with high quality, no nonsense…
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 …
How fitting that Audrey Young is Speaker David Carter's very last fan in the world - Labour's mini revolt smacks of pettiness. There has been one egregious error by the Speaker this term, in letting the Prime Minister get away with claims that Labour supported…
Idiot turn of phrase or deliberately inflammatory? You be the judge: Collins wants 'monster' Maori board dumped National Party MP Judith Collins has called the Auckland Council's Maori advisory board an "unaccountable monster" that thinks it's "outside the law". This is the Maori advisory board…
We've had a lot of flooding in NZ recently. We are not alone. Over the last week Chennai (Madras) has suffered badly: Thousands flee Chennai floods amid fears more rain could add to death toll Overflowing rivers and lakes pose added threats to India’s fourth…
' National Ltd™s privatisation of public education hit a snag last week after some excellent work from the Post Primary Teachers Association. It took a case to the Employment Relations Authority which has now determined that the employment of Teach First (NZ)'s largely untrained "teachers"…
PM John Key has apparently confirmed that there will be a reshuffle of cabinet announced today. Expect a promotion for Arnold Rimmer and the return of Judith Collins on the 'better in the tent pissing out' principle. It will also be worth watching to see…
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Reprinted with permission from Invisiphilia's blog Rabblerave In 2006 Ben Elton wrote a novel called Chart Throb. It was a hilarious send-up of the all too familiar reality TV show series format in which little-known yet potentially talented individuals get to make their big debut. Sadly I only…
Details about the behaviour of the Malaysian Diplomat who fled the country earlier this year after being charged with attempted sexual violation and after invoking diplomatic immunity are now being revealed in Court. And they are somewhat bizarre to put it mildly. The Herald in this article…
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Hilary Benn and Maria Eagle have invoked "Labour's proud internationalism" to support their votes for bombing ISIL in Syria to keep Britain safe! As Michael Chessum points out in the LRB, this view of Labour's internationalism is statist rather than socialist. We can be proud…
On Friday, Pete George of the Your NZ blog said this. Tonight I was served with a court order notice instructing me to “take down or disable material from the blog Your NZ that mentions or identified [person’s name] or [company name], or any of…
Pepe Escobar is a writer with a sharp perspective of Eurasian affairs that you won't often read in the mainstream media. In a piece entitled "How Russia is Smashing the Turkish Game in Syria" he makes it very clear why the shoot down of Russia's…
' While the world's eyes are focused on COP21 in Paris, the laws and regulations which will actually be put in place to ameliorate climate change are being simultaneously discussed in secret at the TiSA negotiations in Geneva. The Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is an…
Good piece by Helen Clark on Huff Post: A Zero-Carbon Future Soon I will be making my way to the Paris Climate Conference where it is hoped that a new global climate change agreement will be concluded. The Paris Agreement has the potential to put…
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 …