Classic Key on his holiday very important series of very important meetings that were very important and achieved all kinds of important things: “I’ve got to be the luckiest Prime Minister of New Zealand in the last 25 years. I’ve come to Washington and every single person who we’ve met with from the Administration has wanted to see us” Yay! Meetings!
I think our exploration of space is effectively over. The end of the shuttle programme is the end of that era.
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Charles Moore, Thatcher’s authorised biographer writes in today’s Telegraph: “It has taken me more than 30 years as a journalist to ask myself this question, but I find that I must: is the Left right after all? The Left argues that “the free market” is actually a set-up. The rich run a global system that allows them to accumulate capital and pay the lowest possible price for labour. The freedom that results applies only to them. The many simply have to work harder, in conditions that grow ever more insecure, to enrich the few. Democratic politics is actually in the pocket of those bankers, media barons and other moguls who run and own everything”. It’s worth a read.
The bombing and shootings in Norway overshadowed Key’s meeting with Obama. But he was quick to exploit Norway’s tragedy for political gain saying: “I think what it shows is no country large or small is immune from risk [of ‘global’ terrorism] and that’s why New Zealand plays its part in Afghanistan.” Truth is, the attacker was a rightwing Norwegian.
[Update: more than 80 dead at the camp]
We’ve written about The Spirit Level on several occasions. Here are the authors discussing the New Zealand situation.
Over the last couple of months two potential crises have been unfolding in two very different countries. Greece and America both looked to be in danger of defaulting on their huge debts and triggering a cascade of disastrous consequences. The situation is still unfolding…
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I’ve long thought that the best commentary on the business pages in the Herald and DomPost comes from Alex, the Telegraph cartoonist. He documents the real priorities of the insiders running the rentier economy. News that the banks are offering a lot of hospitality to Treasury officials shows that there are a few Alex’s here.
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no […]
Under the last Labour-led government the GDP per capita rose 15.6%. Under John Key’s National, it has fallen 1.9%. ‘Ah but Labour was just lucky and Key has just been unlucky’, say the righties. The data, however, shows conclusively which party has the best record on growth.
It has been long known that the name “Fox News” should really be known as “Faux News” because it doesn’t believe in reporting reality. It just makes crap up and spins everything to avoid dealing with reality. This video looks at their performance on climate change.
Another big fall in dairy prices overnight. Yet the dollar keeps breaking record highs.
3 days of dinners and walking around looking for a photo-op in LA done, Key’s in DC. But his meetings are being cancelled by people with better stuff to do. Not to worry. The big date is still on: providing “light relief“, in his own words, for Obama. Wonder if he’ll tell him in the one about the national cycleway. Or pull out the ‘brighter future’ gag.
What to make of Epsom? I haven’t so far had a strong opinion on the topic, but I’m starting to come down on the side of “if you can’t beat them, join them”.
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Should we be more angry or scared? Just read the first official government presentation on peak oil. The IEA says conventional oil peaked in 2006 but our government offers only crude denialism and, paradoxically, blithe assurances that they’re ready. This is the kind of crap we used to see before we had 2 oil shocks in the past 4 years.
When David Cameron was asked did he ever discuss the BSkyB bid with News International, he said “I never had an inappropriate conversation.” It would be interesting to know whether he had an “appropriate” conversation about it with Rupert Murdoch when they met after the recent British election. Murdoch, who was asked by Cameron to go in the back door, said they had a cup of tea and no other conversation took place”. He was asked to go in the back door and they just chatted about the weather?
Boot camps are a failure. $36K per head. 15 of 17 in the first two groups have reoffended already. That’s a worse recividism rate than prison. Even on dubious assumptions that the other 2 would have reoffended without boot camp and actually haven’t, that’s $612,000 to stop 2 offenders. Time for National to admit failure and stop wasting our money.
Were a group of Israeli spies operating in Christchurch? The question has emerged as a result of the death or an Israeli national and the events that followed in the aftermath of the February quake. In the name of “national security” we’ll probably never be told the truth.
While Key is monkeying around in LA achieving nothing, Labour is pushing ahead with policies that will take this country forward. Last night, Phil Goff announced the party’s procurement policy at a meeting of Kiwirail Hillside workers, who have just experienced the results of government contracting that ignores wider economic impacts on the country.
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TV1’s poll on Sunday was supposedly curtains for CGT, so what does it mean that the latest Roy Morgan has the Nats down 5% and the Left in striking range of an upset win? It means don’t draw instant conclusions linking one poll to one policy (although it must be tempting when you’ve spent $30K getting the numbers) – watch the trends.
Guest poster David Clark at Red Alert has broken news on job cuts at Child Youth and Family. Front line staff will go – yet another broken promise from National.
Stayed up to watch the Murdochs testifying before a House of Commons committee. They didn’t know a thing about phone hacking. They were let down by those under them. Rupert said it was “the most humble day of my life”. That would be right; Murdochs don’t do humble. It will be a totally new experience. The highest point of drama was the right hook administered by Rupert Murdoch’s latest wife Wendy Deng on the protestor who stuck a shaving-cream pie in Murdoch’s face. There were no smoking guns, but what we may have witnessed was the beginning of the end of the Murdoch dynastic dream. Good riddance.
I/S has revealed how Gerry Brownlee handpicked the “independent” body that is meant to monitor the use of his CERA powers. He appointed Jenny Shipley to the panel and got her $1000 a day, three times the usual pay. Brownlee said the extra was needed to get the people he wanted. But the chair says money didn’t enter into it for him.
Rupert Murdoch got a pie in the face today. But it was only shaving foam. To really do the job, you need special ingredients.
Things are going from bad to worse for Steven Joyce. Labour has released its estimate of the cost of lost dividends by 2025 if National’s asset sales plan goes ahead: $9.7b. All omitted from National’s budget. Labour has challenged National to concede the numbers or provide its own. Instead, Joyce’s excuses just show he doesn’t understand accounting.
According to a recent report, disadvantaged NZ youth are at the “bottom of OECD league”. The report recommends various interventions in schools. The recommendations completely miss the point, because the problem is not in the schools, the problem is in society.
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If you’re pissed off about how much you’re paying to fly your to LA PM to eat pavs, you’re just envious.
Associate Finance Minister Steven Joyce has dealt his government’s economic credibility a serious blow by attacking Labour’s costings of its fiscal plan and getting his own numbers wrong. David Cunliffe looks to be enjoying himself as he rips Joyce apart on Red Alert, in the Herald, and in the Dom. So much for Joyce’s dreams of succeeding English as Finance Minister.
Key’s off on holiday again. 5 days of taxpayer-funded travel and the only real meeting will be half an hour with Obama. But first, he’s in LA solely to have dinner with Warners. Value for our money eh? Key’s more excited about standing in the Oval Office so he can pretend to be powerful than achieving anything solid from his time in the US.
Back in October 2010 the Nats were quick to claim credit for low inflation. No doubt they will be just as quick now to accept the blame for inflation at a 21 year high.
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