No quick fix for diseases of poverty
The continued rise of rheumatic fever is an indictment of our society.
New figures show that there is no quick fix for diseases of poverty.
Your move, National.
Open mike 16/01/2015
The Authors of The Standard are now in holiday mode. Posting will be less regular and dependant on individual author enthusiasm.
Sacrificing our Sovereignty in the name of Free Trade
The United Kingdom is debating entry into the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which like the TPPA will allow investor-state disputes to be resolved by unappealable unaccountable private arbitration. George Monbiot in the Guardian describes the issue well and has suggestions on how the proposal can be challenged.
Emerson on Key’s hypocrisy
Exploiting the Charlie Hebdo attack
How many governments are using the Paris / Charlie Hebdo attack as an excuse to increase surveillance or otherwise remove civil protections? The UK and Australia for starters…
Open mike 15/01/2015
The Authors of The Standard are now in holiday mode. Posting will be less regular and dependant on individual author enthusiasm.
NRT: Waihopaiology
Idiot Savant speculates on why GCSB Director Ian Fletcher is standing down so unexpectedly. Maybe another GCSB stuffup? Which of course someone has to fall on their sword for, but which must be kept secret for “security reasons” (aka “if the victims knew, they’d sue us and complain to the police”).
The Key dynasty
What is with the paparazzi-like obsession with Max Key?
Dame Anne Salmond: Erosion of democratic rights
An excellent piece by Dame Anne Salmond in the Dominion Post yesterday. Salmond reviews the government’s attacks on journalists, institutions and privacy.
Open mike 14/01/2015
The Authors of The Standard are now in holiday mode. Posting will be less regular and dependant on individual author enthusiasm.
“But he hasn’t got anything on!”
The self righteousness of the leaders who marched in Paris was there for all to see, but few in the media decry and […]
GCSB Head, Ian Fletcher resigns
For family reasons he is stepping down… Nothing to see here says Chris Finlayson, great guy who did a great job. For national’s supporters of course there is far more importance in receiving speeding fines Woodhouse is moving quickly to say the enforcement is ambiguous. It appears that he sees a universal right to speed and kill people…
Advertisements pretending to be news
No surprises to find that The Herald is sliding in to the muddy waters of “advertorials”.
Dirty Politics in 2015
Political Scientists Bronwyn Hayward and Mark Boyd were interviewed on Radio New Zealand yesterday on New Zealand politics in 2014 and what happened during the election. They talked extensively on dirty politics, on the role of the media and how things can be improved in 2015.
Open mike 13/01/2015
The Authors of The Standard are now in holiday mode. Posting will be less regular and dependant on individual author enthusiasm.
SkyCity a nightmare for the Nats
Far from fading away into the Christmas haze, SkyCity looks likely to be one of the defining political issues for 2015.
The state of freedom of the press in the world in a series of tweets
An English student, Daniel Wickham has in a series of tweets questioned the commitment of various world leaders who marched in support of freedom of the press to that concept.
Open mike 12/01/2015
The Authors of The Standard are now in holiday mode. Posting will be less regular and dependant on individual author enthusiasm.
The Hypocrisy of Hate
You’d think that with all the WW1 commemorations going on at the moment it would make us more vigilant about our freedom and security, not sleep-walking towards another Holy Crusade (in the name of the God of Money and Father of Fossil Fuels), seduced by slick liars and the gods of commercialism and greed.
Rupert Murdoch on Charlie Hebdo
Rupert Murdoch has tweeted questioning if most Moslems are peaceful and saying they are responsible for extremists within their ranks.
Summer rerun: Deserted cities
I think it is a pity that the currently dominant country / culture in the world, America, has had such a short history.
Open mike 11/01/2015
The Authors of The Standard are now in holiday mode. Posting will be less regular and dependant on individual author enthusiasm.
Local Bodies: Neoliberal Economics Limits Food Choice in Southland
bsprout on the Local Bodies blog, provides a case study, specific to Southland. At the same time, it outlines a more general pattern that can be seen in many places, each with their own local circumstances.
The difference between the left and the right
The recent handling of Charlie Hebdo by the Standard and by Kiwiblog provides a startling contrast. And neatly underlies the reality that the left wing blogs are in no way just the same as the right wing blogs despite what John Key may say.
Open mike 10/01/2015
The Authors of The Standard are now in holiday mode. Posting will be less regular and dependant on individual author enthusiasm
A Punitive Climate of Fear
Whatever the reason for a person’s disability if it is to such an extent that they cannot work we condemn them to a life of subsistence living with a big pay rise when, and if, they reach retirement age to 65% of the average wage!
Simple message
John Key on media freedom
Yesterday John Key condemned the attacking of journalists going about their daily work and said that it was an attack on the fourth estate and the democratic principles of freedom of speech and expression. But his track record on respecting the independence of journalists leaves a lot to be desired.
Open mike 09/01/2015
The Authors of The Standard are now in holiday mode. Posting will be less regular and dependant on individual author enthusiasm
Australian activist arrested for wearing “I’m with Stupid” t-shirt
While the west of the world mourns the murders of the journalists associated with Charlie Hebdo and protests attacks on freedom of speech in Australia the police have arrested a man for wearing a t-shirt that says “I’m with Stupid”.
On Freedom of Speech and Tolerance and Powers of Surveillance
The slaying of staff at Charlie Hebdo and the killing of two police officers will no doubt cause further debate on the extent of freedom of speech, on our relations with Muslims and on the state’s powers of surveillance and if they should be increased.
Charlie Hebdo: ‘… and not give in to fear’
It is a shocking story to wake up to. A murderous act in a beautiful city. Condolences to those close to the people who were killed, and to the people of Paris and France. It is not a justification for the anti-democratic, invasive extensions to the surveillance state.
Open mike 08/01/2015
The Authors of The Standard are now in holiday mode. Posting will be less regular and dependant on individual author enthusiasm.
Free speech and surveillance online
A long, fascinating piece by Glenn Greenwald on The Intercept this morning.
The meaning of dirty politics
One of the strategies of the right is to take any complaint levelled against them and reduce it down until it’s meaningless. Now they’re doing it to Dirty Politics.
Open mike 07/01/2015
Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …