Streetview sleuthing
Nikki Kaye might be right to fear Google’s watchful eye but police in Massachusetts have used streetview to solve the alleged kidnapping of a 9-year-old girl […]
The supply of oil must peak, get used to it
There is only so much oil in the world. It was all formed when, over the course of a few hundred million years, creatures […]
Anger, that’ll solve our problems
Yesterday, Labour leader Phil Goff challenged National to present its plan for getting the economy through the global downturn. Halfway through National/ACT’s much-hyped […]
Israel – a failed democracy
The following quoted text is a e-mail response by Mike Treen from Global Peace and Justice Auckland to someone who was complaining about […]
What’s the economy? or why energy matters
The more I learn about energy, and peak oil in particular, the more concerned I get. So, in the spirit of the season, I […]
Splits and divisions
Which MP only got his job by 39 votes? Which former State house kid and brand-new Tory MP already has ambitions to be […]
Police nurture a unwise form of direct democracy
The Economist has an fascinating article “Rioters of the world unite“. It is partially about the demonstrations, protests, and outright riots in Athens […]
KiwiPolitico started
Pablo, Anita, and Jafapete have (finally) started their new KiwiPolitico blog site. I don’t know Pablo* (at least under that psuedonym), but the […]
Get out of Gaza
Israel’s latest attack on Gaza, purportedly to stop Hamas rocket attacks on Israel, is an unjustified, immoral, and, above all, stupid action. I […]
Pillow talk
I’ve been thinking about the concurrent crises we face – peak oil, climate change, and tightening food supply – how the limits to […]
ETS submissions open
Submissions for the review of the Emissions Trading Scheme have opened but will close on the 13th of February. Given the time of […]
Climate change deniers – accidental comedians
I’m always amazed about the level of sheer scientific ignorance of most of the climate change deniers. Characteristically ridiculous statements (and scientifically humorous) […]
Payback?
National’s decision to allow a 40% increase in endangered Sea Lion kill-quota for the squid fishing industry is old news but I haven’t […]
For richer
I’ve spent the last week touring around the provinces and catching up with old friends and family I haven’t seen for years and […]
Shooting blanks
Italian males, despite the appearance of virility in their persistent attentions to female tourists, have caught the European disease – male infertility. A […]
Madoff, transparency, and electoral regulation
Reading about Madorf and the filching of USD 33 billion in a pyramid scheme from his select group of customers makes for interesting […]
Evolution and Crime
The Economist is one of the few main stream media that seem to be flourishing in the days of decline for most media […]
Debt
A couple of good but not quite satisfying articles today. The first is Brian Gaynor’s analysis of the economy in which he lays […]
Homegrown
At the end of my post a couple of days ago I touched on the notion of a new Zealand identity and a […]
No Xmas
And before anyone calls sour grapes I have to say even John deserves some xmas cheer but this was just too funny not […]
Xmas Eve whimsy: little yellow ducks
The Guardian informs us that: Sailors, fishermen and cruise passengers should be on the alert. If anybody spots a yellow rubber duck bobbing […]
A real alternative
One of Bruce Jesson’s constant bugbears during the New Right revolution of the 80’s and 90’s was that the Left allowed itself to […]
The recession, graphically
OK, one last graph for the year. The latest GDP data isn’t pretty, a 0.4% contraction of the economy in the September quarter. […]
Labour’s maiden speeches
Rather than decorating their tree, some committed Labour Party staffer seems still to be hard at work posting maiden speeches to YouTube. The […]
“Newspaper of record”
A friend just flicked me an article from the Nation which shows just how the Georgian invasion of South Ossetia was misrepresented by […]
What National’s Kiwisaver cuts mean for you
The Council of Trade Unions has done some research showing a worker with a Kiwisaver account will stand to lose as much as […]
Spend, baby, spend
Retailers are whining and the Herald has taken on the role of nanny-state, telling us it is our social responsibility but more stuff […]
Now that’s more like it
Screw Obama, my vote’s with the shoe thrower. Hat tip: onegoodmove
Animal right activists, farming and the police
On ABC last night there was a excellent video “Animal rights campaigner spreads message“. It is worth watching for people who (unlike me) […]
Have the police been inciting?
There is a slowly emerging twist in police spy scandal. The question of incitement and provocation from an agent of the police. Bearing […]
Mindless vandalism
The intersection of The Terrace and Salamanca Rd is the best graffiti spot in Wellington – big bare concrete wall, huge audience. For […]
Granny’s advice – spend up dearies
Economics 101: if you consume more than you produce, your standard of living is unsustainable and, unless you fix the situation, it will eventually […]
Howard Broad: Incompetent, dishonest or about to fire some people?
Let us assume, for a while, that Broad didn’t know the detail of SIG’s activities with Gilchrist If his staff were doing their […]
Obama in 1980
From Time: In 1980, when Obama was a freshman at Occidental College in Los Angeles, he was approached by an aspiring photographer named […]
Key delivers a Christmas kicking for workers
We always said that a National/ACT government would be anti-worker but I’m surprised by how blatant they are being about it. In a […]
Prison tucker
When I saw this photo of Pita Sharples tucking into a prison meal in today’s Dom Post I was hopeful it was a […]