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 […]
Partial credit
Yay, more infrastructure spending during a recession. That’s the right thing to do – stimulate the economy and spend while the price of […]
Thoughts arising from the press gallery drinks
I had some good conversations with journos at the press gallery drinks. We’re often critical of the media, and sometimes specific journos, and […]
Good one Bill II
It’s good to see Bill English acknowledge the last government has left New Zealand in a good position to face the economic crisis. […]
The Big Three
I was listening to some of the old White Stripes when I got home this evening when this song came on. Given the […]
Police spied on Unite Union too
Matt McCarten, head of the Unite Union, has just released emails showing police informant Rob Gilchrist gave the police spy unit details about […]
Bludgin’ ain’t so easy
So, I’m out of work. I was employed on a contract and when it came up for renewal the boss told me business […]
Bill Ralston on police spying
Bill Ralston usually gets stirred by posters at The Standard for what he says. I’ve generally liked him after seeing him give some […]
It’s bad, what to do?
The latest Treasury economic forecasts are out and, in a continuing pattern, they not only make worse reading than the previous updates but […]
The final cut
Good one Bill
Bill English has stopped the sale of BlueScope’s Taharoa ironsands business to a Chinese investor based on the fact that it won’t bring […]
Gratitude
I haven’t commented on the maiden speeches yet (we’re doing some analysis later) but I can’t let this stand. Aaron Gilmore, the bottom-ranked National […]
Somewhat suspicious
Gerry ‘sexy coal’ Brownlee has spent today ripping apart more anti-climate change laws. Today, under urgency and without the opportunity for the public […]
Merry Christmas from National
National’s decides to hit workers in the pocket: ACC Minister Nick Smith yesterday said levies would increase from $1.40 to $1.70 for every […]
Who else are they spying on?
Gordon Campbell raises a good question in his latest Scoop column – are the Police also using paid informants to spy on mosques? […]
Time to reconsider Hobsonville
After initially saying they would cap the number of state houses, National/ACT’s Housing Minister Phil Heatley actually got informed. Despite the good work […]
Impressions of the House
First question time – the teams square off. Let the games commence. So what was the vibe? Well both sides kept getting their […]
Enough already – no more tests please
When I went to my first parent/teacher interview I was amazed at the breadth of markers against which my daughter’s performance was being […]
The limits to tolerance of the police
On discovering that her boyfriend had been spying on her and her friends for the police, and the consequent violations of her expectation […]
Be pragmatic
A fundamental of social democratic politics is full employment. It is sometimes said that work is the best form of welfare. When people […]