Open mike 07/08/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Curiosity – 5:30pm
At around 5:30pm this evening Curiosity will either touch down safely on Mars, or make (another) expensive smudge on the surface. Various links below – tune in. Good luck Curiosity…
NRT: Not worth it
I/S at No Right Turn on the latest Kiwi deaths in Afghanistan.
King Gerry ripping off the peasants
The design of the red-zone buy-out puts CERA first, the insurers seconds, and the earthquake victims last. Homeowners could take the 2007 valuation […]
Postcards from the “brighter” future
Hey John – where’s our “Brighter Future”? Hey National voters – was this what you voted for?
Race-baiting works, a little
Meh. National has race-baited over water rights to win back some of its wavering lower-middle class Pakeha support. It’s won some of that support back. For now. The thing about turning tides is that not every wave, or even every set of waves for some time, reaches less far up the beach than the one lowest before. Within each cycle there are dips and spikes due to events. Doesn’t change the cycle.
Open mike 06/08/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Standing up for freedom for the sexually adventurous Right
For a guy whose god had two dads, Colin Craig seems pretty worked up about gays. He’s raised the spectre of marriage equality leading to polygamous marriage. I’m not sure what’s meant to be so scary about that. Polygamous relationships are legal. But Craig seems fascinated by it. It’s often those things we like least in ourselves that we criticise in others.
Education and poverty
No one can fix the tail of educational underachievement without fixing poverty.
ImperatorFish: Community Law Centres Under Threat
The Government has decided to change the way it funds Community Law Centres. It will save money – at the expense of justice for those who can’t afford lawyers.
Open mike 05/08/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Fran O’Sullivan: in praise of central planning
Has Fran O’Sullivan been replaced by a communist infiltrator? Today, she gushes over a central government plan to use emergency powers to appropriate land and bypass RMA property rights. She even suggests the Government could use such powers to redesign other CBDs according to its own grand plans. Next, she’ll be calling for a 5-year plan.
The illusion of consultation
For some reason the Nats are in a hurry to complete their privatisation programme within two years. Anyone in any doubt as to how the process of consultation with Maori will play out might be informed by some recent history.
Open mike 04/08/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Weekend social 03/08/2012
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no […]
They eat their own
Anyone else taking a perverse pleasure in the Pullar-Collins-Boag-Judge affair? They’re all Tory villains. And they’re eating each other alive. Judge was handpicked to privatise ACC. Now, Collins is trying to stick the Boag email leak to him, Did he do it? Who knows. The other most likely option is Collins. So implicating Judge serves Collins’ purpose.
Robber’s charter
So, the Nats want unqualified teachers teaching the country’s most disadvantaged kids in charter schools. This is meant to close the gap with rich kids. Oddly, private schools opt for trained teachers. Also, oddly, it was only 2 months ago that the Nats were saying they wanted all teachers to have post-grad qualifications. Why the back-flip? It’s all about that well known route to economic and social success: driving down teachers’ wages.
Incoherent education policy
The right hand of National’s education policy doesn’t know what the far-right hand is up to…
Nats try to muscle the Waitangi Tribunal
A stockmarket float can’t happen at just any time. It needs to be close to the annual report or late enough in the new year to allow new numbers to be made after the Christmas break. So 2 windows a year. 5 to the election. Treasury says the stockmarket can only handle 1 asset sale a window, preferably 1 a year. The Nats know they will lose the next election. So they can’t afford to lose this sales window if they’re to do all the sales by the election.
Open mike 03/08/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Invest in parents to invest in kids
Labour’s people-centred economic policy got a huge boost last week, courtesy of the Members’ Bill lottery. Paid parental leave extended, holidays Mondayised, minimum wage raised, and assets fenced off from sale. The first two have gone to Select Committee. They are worth supporting.
Local Bodies: NZ Charter Schools Defined
A post (reprinted with permission) from bsprout at the Local Bodies blog…
The luxury of an ethical opposition
Although Key’s privatisation programme has hit plenty of problems with Maori water rights, his job is made a whole lot easier by the luxury of an ethical main opposition party.
Nothing better to do
Man, this brighter future sure is sweet. In just four short years, all the country’s problems are solved and the Prime Minister has literally nothing left to do. For a lark, he spends his time playing DJ. Oh… wait. Update- There’s a #DJJohnKey hashtag trending on Twitter in NZ. The Greens inviting suggested songs for Key to play. Pretty funny suggestions coming through.
By the book
“At all times, Ministers are expected to act lawfully and to behave in a way that upholds, and is seen to uphold, the highest ethical standards. Ultimately, Ministers are accountable to the Prime Minister for their behaviour.” – The Cabinet Manual. John Banks lied to reporters, and the public, while a minister. That’s not upholding the highest ethical standards. When will John Key hold him to account?
Open mike 02/08/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Peter Davis on Social Democracy
Dr Peter Davis on “Sovereignty, sustainable development and social justice. Priorities for social democracy in Aotearoa New Zealand,” tomorrow evening Thursday August 2 5:30 GLBT4 Old Government Buildings, Wellington. All welcome.
The bill arrives for the “supercity”
The bill for the Nats’ Auckland “supercity” is arriving in ratepayers’ letterboxes. Some are in for a nasty shock…
Climate skeptic wakes up
There aren’t many climate skeptics whose opinions can be affected by mere evidence, so hats off to Richard Muller.
Waitangi Tribunal could exercise binding powers
If John Key chooses to ignore the Waitangi Tribunal and continue to foment racial division in a desperate bid to split opposition to asset sales, he may be in for a nasty surprise. The Waitangi Tribunal has noted it has the power to make binding recommendations over memoralised land. Key doesn’t think Mighty River has any memoralised land. Yes, it does.
The donkey and the ass
Key says the local elections law is an ass. Presumably, he knows what that phrase means: it delivers unjust results. Key thinks its unjust that Banks has escaped justice for his anonymous donation rort. Well, John you’re not helpless. Banks lied to media. He lied to you. He said he hadn’t solicited the donations. Didn’t know about them. He did. He lied to you and New Zealand. Sack him.
Open mike 01/08/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
$3 Billion
The government have $3 billion for the Christchurch rebuild burning a hole in their pockets. But at the same time they’re claiming governmental poverty is why we need to sell our productive assets… And there’s 30,000 people nearby wanting proper houses to live in.
The Political Scientist: Underneath the ‘underclass’
Many of those who participate in the comments here at The Standard also run their own excellent blogs. We regularly feature No Right Turn and Imperator Fish Today we’re reposting (with permission) pieces from two other blogs that attracted some attention in Open mike recently. Here’s the second one, from The Political Scientist…
Frankly Speaking: Identifying a hypocrite in three easy steps
Many of those who participate in the comments here at The Standard also run their own excellent blogs. We regularly feature No Right Turn and Imperator Fish Today we’re reposting (with permission) pieces from two other blogs that attracted some attention in Open mike recently. First up here’s Frankly Speaking…
No legal power for looters’ bonus
I missed this last week: Key is now conceding that he doesn’t have legal authority to give away shares for free in a looters’ bonus. In June, Key and English arrogantly dismissed questions from Russel Norman on the legal authority to give away hundreds of millions of dollars worth of shares to the looters. Last week, Key sheepishly admitted that Norman is right.