Open mike 15/09/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
Caption Competition
Cameron Slater, aka Whaleoil, found guilty today in the Auckland District Court on eight breaches of suppression orders and one of identifying a […]
The contradictions of charity
Continental Philosopher Slavoj Zizek talks about ethical buying and charity and the contradictions they entail. I’m not sure I agree with him (I […]
Teachers strike tomorrow
Here are the reasons for tomorrows strike from a member of the PPTA (Post Primary Teachers Association) in a guest post. The Ministry of Education has rejected them all.
You’d have to expect the spinners for the government to carefully ignore these issues in favour of their usual simplistic meaningless dogwhistling messages. That is the level they’d prefer that kids are educated to.
Desperation from Banks team
John Banks’ team really jumped the shark yesterday with their bizarre ‘poll tax’ attack on Len Brown. Banks claimed Brown was proposing a Thatcher-style poll tax to fund the Supercity instead of rates. Of course, Brown is proposing no such thing – he is saying we should look at replacing rates with income tax. Desperate, Banksie, desperate.
Hone stands by principles on foreshore
Stuff is reporting that Hone Harawira will not vote for the Nats’ foreshore and seabed legislation. And John Key is clearly upset. Sounds like someone needs the whambulance. Key’s just lost the ability to claim that he has genuinely circled the square, giving Pakeha and Maori both what they want. All he has really done is bought off the Maori Party leadership.
Good luck I say
It seems Sarah Palin is stepping up her campaign to be the Republican’s candidate to run against President Obama in 2012. The world couldn’t ask for a better candidate to oppose Obama: She won’t have a show in hell.
Quake shows GDP doesn’t equal wealth
Treasury has released its preliminary report on the economic impact of the Christchurch earthquake. GDP will be down up to 0.8% this quarter but after rebuilding net GDP for the next two years ends up 0.8% higher than it would have. Great! Let’s knock down Hamilton too and get a GDP boost! Actually, we’re just seeing the limits of GDP as a measure of wealth.
Election in the shadow of the Christchurch earthquake
Jim Anderton’s mayoral campaign got a lot harder last week. He had been the favourite by a long, long way but Bob Parker has handled the disaster recovery well and he will win votes for that. But it doesn’t change why the people wanted shot of Parker and Anderton in his place. All’s not lost. Jim’s holding a community forum tonight in Woolston.
Open mike 14/09/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
Garrett convicted for assault
It seems Act MP and wannabe tough guy David Garrett has a conviction for assault.
I guess you don’t have to dig too far beneath the skin of these Sensible Sentencing Trust types to find their inner thug.
Where do you stand
Obviously tired of politicians saying one thing on the campaign trail and then doing the exact opposite when they’re in office (which reminds […]
Request for Information
Teachers are striking on Wednesday.
But there’s not a lot of information about why.
That’s an information void the government will fill if the PPTA doesn’t.
Newspapers had their uses
Reading the New York Times this weekend, I found this wee gem.
Compared to my iPad, I’d have to say (sadly) there is at least one thing that newspapers are better at. However I don’t think that this will prevent me from avoiding bloating landfills.
Ralston Attempts Hijack of Radio NZ SuperCity Debate
In the lecture theatre that the Radio NZ SuperCity debate was held this morning Len Brown clearly and easily won – but how did it appear on radio?
Bill Ralston and his coterie did his best to even up the perceptions…
Natural Dairy NZ & Chinese neo-mercantilism
To have power and independence, any country needs a solid economic base. That’s even more true of superpowers/empires. To secure their economic sovereignty they need the raw materials and markets of less powerful countries. They reinforce their economic sovereignty by taking others’. China does it by buying up whole supply chains.
A belated farewell
I meant to post on Sean Plunket’s last day with Morning report last week but better late than never I suppose. Plunket is […]
Equality of opportunity
“The Spirit Level” is a book with a simple message: An unequal society is a sick society. It’s a message that has the right wing running scared, and trying to dodge the issue by pretending that they believe in “equality of opportunity”. But across society there’s no such thing…
Open mike 13/09/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
Rob Stock calls for post-quake reforms
In today’s, Sunday-Star Times, Rob Stock picks up on a topic I’ve been writing about: “THE EARTHQUAKE has exposed a policy that must be changed immediately – the way the Earthquake Commission is funded.Significant numbers of people will get nothing from the commission because it is funded by a levy on house insurance.”
Christchurch earthquake rebuilding: speed, not haste
The Government has announced it intends to push through emergency legislation to expedite the rebuilding of Christchurch. The urge to put things back the way they were is only natural in the wake of a huge physical and psychic shock but shouldn’t we have a think about how we want Christchurch rebuilt before we let anyone go ahead willy-nilly?
Open mike 12/09/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
Learning from the Christchurch Earthquake
The Napier Earthquake led to the earthquake-resistant building standards that have proven so valuable in Christchurch. The EQC was founded after the Wairarapa Earthquake. World War 2 and the threat of air raids led to the creation of Civil Defence. What lessons can we learn from the Christchurch Earthquake? Better standards building on around liquefaction-prone ground seems like a priority.
English refuses inquiry into $1.7bln SCF bailout
Bill English has ruled out an inquiry into the SCF affair. Think about that: the government is forced to spend the annual Police budget in a single morning and isn’t even interested in learning what could have been done better. The public service’s response, on the other hand, to the Christchurch earthquake will doubtlessly be subject to numerous inquires. It’s just good governance.
The next financial crisis
If you have some time to spare this Saturday morning, check out the documentary “Overdose” – The story of the greatest financial crisis we will ever see… The one that is on the way.
Open mike 11/09/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
The State’s reserve powers & the Christchurch earthquake
The Civil Defence Emergency Act gives the authorities some extraordinary powers and has seen a handful of people in Christchurch very rapidly tried and summarily convicted of some unusual offences. It reminds us that the State holds huge powers in reserve for times of crisis. It speaks to the strength of our institutions and the people who operate them that these powers aren’t abused.
Just what they needed
It was heartbreaking this morning to read of the worsening conditions in Christchurch’s poor suburbs, where damage assessments are only just now being done and aftershocks are accumulating more and more problems on already vulnerable communities. So, this picture sent in by a reader caused a bit of a bemused smile (click title for big version).
Help needed in Christchurch?
Students are offering to help out in Christchurch. Do you need a hand?
Right wing tantrums
The mind set of your typical far RWNJ (Right Wing Nut Job) reminds me of nothing so much as a spoiled greedy baby. Never more so than after reading a couple of notable tantrums from right wing politicians lately.
Banks lays down with dogs, Brown comes up smelling of roses
It’s been interesting to watch the Nats’ smear machine switch focus from Len Brown to Andrew Williams in recent days. I guess that’s what you get for letting Cameron Slater become your de facto chief strategist. Maybe the Nats have worked out that they’re not going to beat Brown. This article in the Herald certainly won’t help Banks one iota.
More attacks on workers coming?
There seems to be confusing in National’s camp about further attacks on workers rights.
Unfortunately this tallies with rumours they’re planning big changes in a second term.
Treasury? Leaks? Casino?
Fran O’Sullivan claims inside knowledge of the bailout plan may have given some investors the inside running.
That’s reminiscent of the headstart some investors got in ’84 when the dollar was devalued.
And it’s one more reason we need a public inquiry into the bailout.
Open mike 10/09/2010
Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes […]
Nats fail to save jobs in quake zone
86 workers have been fired from Kaiapoi New World, which will be closed for a year due to quake damage. This is exactly why the government should implement the kind of scheme I outlined where the government steps in to supply the full wages of workers who can’t work due to the quake, funded by delaying the tax cuts for the rich.
A Disastrous Culture
The earthquake in Canterbury has presented us with politicians who are apparently firmly in charge and able to assess the situation, deploy troops and generally inform us, the general population, of what is going on.
Whatever could possibly be wrong with that?