Granny’s waterworks
I think Granny Herald must have shares in Infratil, based on her rubbish editorial today: Particular fervour is reserved for private-sector participation in […]
Brash’s mea culpa
Strange mea culpa from Don Brash on the foreshore and seabed in today’s Dom. He doesn’t go as far as to apologise for […]
English’s strange priorities
Talk about bereft of ideas, the currency is yo-yoing, the housing bubble is re-inflating, wages are falling, jobs are still being lost in […]
New road user laws
Remember John Key’s Nanny State rant?: I’ve had nine years of being told what lightbulb I can screw into the house, what shower […]
Open mike 02/11/09
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply. Over to you…
Ashcroft out of Belize into New Zealand?
‘Lord Ashcroft of Belize’ facing eviction as country turns on him. This is the heading in an article in today’s Observer. It’s worth […]
Good Old Fashioned Solidarity
Matt McCarten writes a fine opinion piece in today’s Herald. He hits four main points: 1. The neo-liberal dismantling of NZ’s egalitarian society […]
Ecosexploitation 350
One of the many problems facing people who want to grow popular awareness of matters ecological is that for the large part, it’s […]
Ominous
Estimated number of US troops now in Afghanistan: 68,000. Number of troops US General Stanley McChrystal is currently asking for in addition to […]
Stuffalanche
I read a fun piece by Charlie Brooker in The Guardian recently: There’s too much stuff. We live in a stuff-a-lanche. I’m fairly […]
Open mike 01/11/09
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and […]
The horror of low wages
The Unite Halloween-themed $15 minimum wage march went well yesterday. Looks like there were a fair number of people there. Pity there’s no […]
Exchange rates, Kiwisaver, breaking promises, & the art of doing nothing
A range of interesting political/economic comment today in the Herald: Fran O’Sullivan joins the left-wing and groups like Federated Farmers in calling on […]
Voters see Nats’ feet of clay
Amongst all the puffery from the right-wing commentators in the Herald today, a very interesting piece – interviews with ordinary people from New […]
Key’s piggies at the trough
A few months ago, John Key said of ministers taking their partners travelling on the taxpayer dollar: “I’ve told them if they want […]
Cycleway to nowhere
This just in: A picture of stage one of PM John Key’s personal solution to NZ’s recession – the cycleway to nowhere! OK, […]
Open mike 31/10/09
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and […]
CTU Alternative Economic Strategy
If you watched the media coverage of last week’s Council of Trade Unions conference you’ll have walked away thinking it was about John […]
Hey Righty
One of our commenters prism asked a good question on Open Mike the other day: The honeymoon for the Nats stretches on and […]
Bill’s pants are on fire
Bill English claims (echoes of another Bill!) that he did not have pecuniary relations with his family trust: “I didn’t have a pecuniary […]
$15 min wage march tonight
The Campaign for a Living Wage will be taking to the streets of Auckland’s CBD tonight to demand a minimum wage of 15 […]
Key OK with ministers’ backdoor perk
I’m sure you noticed Hide’s latest shenanigans – getting his partner taxpayer subsidised international flights despite Key’s directive not to. Key (surprise, surprise) is ‘comfortable’ with […]
Four day week good – science
Yes Mr and Ms Work-Life-Balance, science is on your side. Last month the New Scientist summarised research from Utah that showed workers were […]
The best dividend is POWER!
At this point it seems a bit pointless coming to work this morning. I’m sitting in a dark office with the cheeping of […]
Treasury provides cover for Nats’ rightwing agenda
National’s favourite public servant (who got himself a nice pay rise), John Whitehead, has been offering dire warnings of the future. $2 trillion […]
Breakfast is on us
Check out the invite we got to ‘Plain English’. Incredible. I didn’t even know until watching the Campbell Live story that David Cunliffe and Roger […]
Open mike 30/10/09
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and […]
One of these things is too like the other
Now TVNZ is pulling the Bill English ad, I notice the web ad is also gone. In it’s place is something so vapid that I pray it […]
Outdoor smoking ban stupid
According to Radio NZ the Western Bay of Plenty District Council is declaring a ban on smoking outdoors. The ban covers 30 beaches […]
Sue Bradford’s valedictory
Some highlights from Sue Bradford’s valedictory speech. We’ll link to the full version once the Greens get it up. Update: Frogblog has a […]
Nats flying high, on your dime
Why is our agriculture minister spending as much as the Prime Minister on international travel? David Carter has spent $72,000 on international travel […]
Anyone remember this guy?
With all the noise around Obama you don’t hear much about this guy now. He was politically naive but knowingly and willingly acted […]
On Cameron Slater and mental illness
A few months ago, a couple of us worked out that Cameron Slater, following his little spin in the media where he gloated […]
$15 minimum wage, it’s only fair
The campaign for a $15 an hour minimum wage is gathering pace. Initially, Unite kind of set out on their own on this […]
Political marketing expert fooled by English ads
If you thought TVNZ’s promo ad for its Plain English series looked like an ad for the National Party you’re not alone. Seems […]
Good on you Sue
Ever since the Greens were elected into Parliament for the first time, Sue Bradford has been one the MPs I have admired the […]