What is up with NZ First?
New Zealand First’s late decision to promote a referendum concerning abortion has caught everyone including its spokesperson Tracy Martin by surprise and is the latest example of last minute changes of position.
Open mike 09/08/2019
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Daily review 08/08/2019
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Should the Government spend massively more?
With yesterday’s announcement by the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates by 1%, some are suggesting that the government should embark on a massive public works spree to stimulate the economy while increasing national debt at low interest rates. But Kiwisaver reform may be more effective.
Nuclear chickens coming home?
The Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty between the United State and Russia signed by Reagan and Gorbachev in 1987 formally ended on August 2nd. On Sunday the new US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper dined privately with Winston Peters. Before and during his trip to the Pacific, Mark Esper called for placement of intermediate-range US missiles in Asia.
Open mike 08/08/2019
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Maybe we shouldn’t take the plane
The case for reducing mass air travel rests in looking at whole systems rather than counting the carbon emissions of each flight.
Daily review 07/08/2019
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What if we let the wilding pines grow?
Take a breath, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. In an age of climate breakdown, where reforesting is a critical component of climate mitigation and adaptation, we need to stop cutting down so many trees, and move to forest-based thinking.
Maybe we should take the plane
Activist Greta Thunberg is attending a United Nations global warming summit in New York, and will get there by boat not airplane. But should she consider flying?
Open mike 07/08/2019
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Daily review 06/08/2019
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 …
Five days is a long time in politics
Five days ago Simon Bridges predicted that unemployment had gone up. The latest figures show that the unemployment rate is at its lowest rate for the past eleven years. Update: My enthusiasm was too high. It has been pointed out to me that the Bridges tweet was from last year. My apologies to Simon …
Simon Bridges wants a new Digital Media advisor
A slight rewrite of an ad currently on Parliament’s careers website.
Open mike 06/08/2019
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Ihumātao: Today’s Nationwide Day of Action
After increased police presence and action at Ihumātao on Monday night, the call went out again for people to come to support the Protectors, and they did. More support can be offered at solidarity events being held across the country today.
Daily review 05/08/2019
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Dear America Antifa is not the problem
America has suffered two mass shootings of civilians in the past couple of days with at least one being committed by a white supremacist. But the Republican Party is fixated on Antifa, a loose organisation that has been implicated in no mass shootigns.
Arnhem Land and Ihumātao
A Recent High Court decision in Australia suggests that protection of indigenous land rights may be better than we think.
Open mike 05/08/2019
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Can the Greens rise like the liberal democrats?
Only 6 months ago the UK Liberal Democrat party was at a real low, with their leader resigning and the polls about 7%: same as the last five years. Fast forward five months from that and they are ready to become a major opposition party of opposition. Can the Greens do the same?
How To Get There 4/8/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
Open mike 04/08/2019
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Truth-telling and The New Climate Denial
James Shaw lays it out in his AGM speech: the new climate denial sounds reasonable and is the gravest danger we currently face.
Institutional poverty
Christchurch City Council have provided hundreds of social housing tenants with bubble wrap and a mop instead of insulating their houses.
Boris Johnson’s majority is disappearing
in England the Conservatives have lost a safe seat in a by election to the SDP. And from Ireland comes a cunning plan that would obliterate Johnson’s majority.
Open mike 03/08/2019
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Memo from Crosby Textor – fake news
The Standard has obtained an internal memo from CTF Partners (formerly Crosby Textor) where it responds to allegations that it is a kindergarden for the rich children of Conservative Party donors, has engaged in misogynist behavior and ran anti and pro cycle astroturf campaigns to get a cycleway moved from near a client’s business premises to near an opponent’s premises.
Open mike 02/08/2019
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Daily review 01/08/2019
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Later Whaleoil
The Whaleoil blog has announced that there will be no new blog posts on the site.
Dutton engages in weaponised brutality
Australia is responding to New Zealand’s concern at the forced repatriation of New Zealand citizens from Australia who fall foul of the law by dramatically increasing the potential for this to occur.
Open mike 01/08/2019
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Daily review 31/07/2019
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The unbelievable lightness of Simon Bridges
Simon Bridges has insulted women and Tokelauans at the same time with a thinly veiled attack on Jacinda Ardern.
Simon – only good at the bottom of a cliff
The interview between Jack Tame and Simon Bridges was revealing. Circumlocutions and the wheedling of a conniving prosecutor around the National party hypocrisy over cancer drugs. Making a token amount towards funding super-expensive cancer drugs – but don’t want to deal with root causes or prevention of cancer? It beggars belief that this fool is a politician.