Search Results » bill fear
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Lone nutters and suicide by cop
As anticipated, the Sydney cafe siege was caused by a lone nutter with a dubious history. He committed suicide by cop apparently after killing a hostage. Meanwhile we have had opportunistic jerkoffs like National MP Mark Mitchell displaying their paranoid fantasies (probably as urine dribbles down their leg) to justify recent poorly written and rushed legislation.
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Key in for the long term?
John Key’s election as chair of the International Democratic Union is significant. Key succeeds John Howard who has led the IDU for the past 12 years. Key’s acceptance signals that like four-time winner Howard, Key plans a long career as Prime Minister of New Zealand. This news should be a wake-up call for the Labour Party’s review of its election organisation and party structure.
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Gerry Brownlee and Airport security
Gerry Brownlee has admitted and been fined for entering a security area at Christchurch Airport. But there is an issue about whether he had a defence to the charge that he actually faced. And despite John Key’s and the CAA’s indication the report into the incident would be released it is now being withheld.
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“Marching in the streets”
Abuse of power, activism, climate change, democracy under attack, exports, Japan, jobs, us politics, workers' rightsThousands of people protested and marched around the country against the secret and anti-democratic TPPA negotiations. Reports & pics. Updated
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Auckland Labour Day Event
The Mangere Labour Electorate Committee is planning an interesting event on Labour Day in Auckland to commemorate the contributions of three different people to the Labour movement.
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Let them go to war
Back when I was a teenager, a mate of mine decided that he was going to give up on school and would get in some combat. So he worked his way into the Rhodesian Light Infantry. A few years later I heard that he’d been killed in action. Other young men going overseas with similar excitement issues have came back a lot less interested in excitement. Sounds safer to me than letting them have a car.
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Surveillance in Australia
Latest developments in Australia are relevant in the context of the recent focus on surveillance in NZ. What are the odds that the Nats will pass similar laws here during their current term?
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Greenwald on the GCSB
Glenn Greenwald has arrived in New Zealand and has been interviewed on the Nation. He has alleged that the GCSB is a fully fledged member of the 5 eyes network and has been engaged in mass surveillance of New Zealanders, contrary to assurances previously given by John Key.
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Airbrushing the VRWC
blogs, brand key, capitalism, class war, David Farrar, democracy under attack, election 2014, news, newspapersIn today’s Sunday Star Times, is an article on a Matthew Hooton & the VRWC (Vast Right Wing Conspiracy). Hooton criticises John Key, does a couple of mea culpas, but ultimately, airbrushes the whole disgusting mess of dirty politics. [Updated: comment from Bill]
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The Credibility Stakes: John Key vs Nicky Hager
BLip comments on John Armstrong’s article yesterday. Then he updates his “Honest Man” list about John Key and his limited understanding of the truth.
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Hi Guyon!
In which I glow in the fame of being mentioned on Morning Report (and answer most of Guyon’s questions) and also encourage turnout in the wake of Dirty Politics.
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Guest post – Democracy and debate in the suburbs
A guest post by Old Irascible on recent local experience when a Labour candidate tried to reach out to his local Rotary Club.
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Dotcom – Who applied the political pressure?
National is claiming that Immigration NZ’s decision to allow Kim Dotcom to stay was made without any political pressure being applied. But it was the decision of the SIS to remove its block on Dotcom’s application that let the approval be granted. Why did the SIS remove its block and who applied the political pressure?
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Local Bodies: The Myth of Free Trade Agreements
There is a false perception that free trade agreements are vital to our economy. Our open borders may make us the 3rd easiest country to do business in but that doesn’t mean that is an economic advantage, it actually exposes us to exploitation and is one of the reasons why our Current Account deficit is one of the largest in the OECD. The real fear should not about the loss of FTA’s but the real consequences of having them in the first place.
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Spying on the left: 20th century “dirt files”
Secret files have been released, that document the spying of Labour/left politicians in the early-to-mid 20th century: Savage, Fraser, Nash, Sutch, Sir Dove Meyer Robinson. The NZ establishment has a long history of treating the left as a threat. [Update: “Dunne over” by spy review]
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Still an honest man?
BLip has been maintaining for quite a while, a little list of Honest John’s statements that aren’t exactly true. One iteration of this list “An Honest Man” is still one of the most popular posts here with many page views on a daily basis – more than a year after it was posted. Looks like someone has made a video of a few of the times when some of these were made. There is also a more recent BLip list of the words of our favourite lying politician.
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The political beliefs of political reporters
Television New Zealand is requiring political reporters to divulge political affiliation, membership and other political party activity. And John Key attacks TV3’s Linda Clark for allegedly helping the Labour Party. Yet Mike Hosking and Paul Henry are free to trumpet right wing spin lines. See the problem?
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David Parker – Lower interest rates, a more competitive dollar and better jobs from Reserve Bank changes
David Parker’s speech notes announcing Labour’s proposed changes to the Reserve Bank.
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So smart. Green senator Ludlam ‘welcomes’ Abbott to WA
One of the most effective political videos that I have seen from a country that is coming to specialise in them. I’m unsurprised that it went completely viral. It was a great description of all of the ways that Tony Abbott is beholden to the interests of those made insane by idiotic greed – and welcoming him to Western Australia. All expressed in a polite quiet voice enumerating exactly how much of a arsehole Abbott is. He even makes John Key look sort of rational – in a traditional junior partner kind of way
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NZ independence? back to the future
NZ seems like a client state of both US imperialism, and the UK monarchy: a throwback to the first part of the 20th century. John Key was quick to support the US & EU lines on the Crimea; some low achieving, British royals are visiting NZ at taxpayers’ expense.
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Tale of two Irelands
Tracey recounts the rise and fall of the `financial genius` John Key’s pet financial hub for NZ to emulate the paragon economies that tried it. Like Ireland – the home of the jobless and deserted housing projects.
Fortunately he was somehow prevented from stuffing NZ in this way. However he did put in some legislation of dubious value to allow NZ to be used as a haven for hot money fleeing taxes…
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Australian hissy fit at supermarkets
Australia again. I wish they would adopt an honourable and fair stance to New Zealand instead of using us whenever they want to gain advantage for themselves or throw a hissy fit. Now they are discriminating against our food exports in two large supermarkets, one of which has a large store ownership here.
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NRT: Global inequality is a threat to democracy
No Right Turn writes on the Oxfam report about the deliberate concentration of wealth by subverting the political process towards the inequality levels displayed in the movie Elysium. Today’s shock statistic: the 85 richest people in the world control as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion of us.
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Poverty denial
child welfare, class war, election 2014, health, housing, national/act government, poverty, spin, uk politics, unemployment, wages, welfareHere & in the UK: food poverty, increases in queues to foodbanks, in diseases of poverty, a crisis in affordable housing, & struggles & insecurites of the working poor. But poverty denialists blame the poor, smear beneficiaries, & talk of (always-around-the-corner) “brighter futures”.
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Battle weary & marginalised: state housing
activism, class war, democracy under attack, greens, housing, labour, Left, mana, national, poverty, Privatisation, spin, sustainabilityThe National government is destroying NZ’s state housing system. Right of tenure removed, a shift towards private provision of “social housing”, housing campaigners marginalised, & Tracy Watkins crowing about the shift from the “welfare state”. Greens & Mana are for more state houses. And Labour? [Update] Picket of (Nat) Party for the Rich Dec 8 Akl. NZH article.
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Coat-tail of Many Colours
act, conservative party, Economy, election 2014, electoral systems, greens, hone harawira, john key, mana, maori party, MMP, national, nz first, paula bennett, united futureTe Reo Putake speculates on exactly what plan that National and John Key have to distort the MMP review and Iain Lee Galloway’s private members bill so that it allows them to stay in power. Most probably by gifting Crazy Colin and the Conservatives with several chances to get several partners into parliament while discarding the husks of their former coalition partners.
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NSA: ‘full spectrum dominance’
accountability, capitalism, democracy under attack, internet, john key, national, slippery, Spying, telecommunications, uk politics, us politics, warLatest revelations about the NSA’s international surveillance show it is about “full spectrum dominance” of military, economic, business and political activities. The TICS Bill is the latest part of Key’s changes to NZ’s surveillance agencies, further enabling the US government dominance via NSA, especially in business & politics.
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The Guardian on Dotcom, GCSB, Key & US power
capitalism, copyright, democracy under attack, john key, national, Spying, telecommunications, us politicsAn article in today’s UK Guardian highlights the role of Key’s, US-supporting, government in the GCSB, Dotcom, surveillance saga (and TPP). It is chilling & shows why we need to continue to campaign against NZ’s surveillance state legislation and for TPPA transparency.
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APEC, TPP, Crosby-Textor, Philip Morris & John Key
australian politics, capitalism, climate change, crosby textor, democracy under attack, energy, john key, slippery, Unions, us politicsJohn Key’s role as Obama surrogate in chairing TPP discussions at APEC just reinforce how much Key is deeply involved in crony capitalist, Big Corporate serving networks of influence: ones that link him with anti-democratic Big Tobacco, Big Oil, and climate change denial propaganda.
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Your Brighter Future: Burn.
benefits, capitalism, class war, cost of living, Economy, energy, health and safety, helen clark, Judith Collins, national, paula bennett, privatisation, welfare“I just utter one fear…”
Remember that?
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Return of the Hollow Men
accountability, brand key, david cunliffe, don brash, election 2014, Ethics, john key, Judith Collins, news, same old national, slippery, spinWith Cunliffe’s Labour in the ascendance, NAct and/supporters pull out their bag of dirty and deceptively manipulative, Hollow Men, tricks. Adviser to John Key & Boris Johnson, Mark Textor, will most likely be used again: ruthless attack politics, playing on fears & prejudices.
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Disgusting
Chris Finalyson’s contribution to the GCSB debate yesterday was a strong reminder that the job description for National MPs includes a requirement that they be rude and arrogant and a belief that they are somehow superior to the rest of us.
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John Key – GCSB fool (or liar)
On Campbell Live, and on other occasions, John Key has claimed that critics of the GCSB spying bill were all wrong. The Human Rights Commission – wrong. The Law Society – wrong. The Privacy Commissioner – wrong. Dame Anne Salmond – wrong. Everyone else wrong – only he – John Key – and his secret advisors were right, and we the sheeple have nothing to fear.
Now in a stunning embarrassment it is Key that has had to admit that he was wrong. Or a liar.
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Paula is abusing Child Abuse Prevention Orders
Paula Bennett has recently announced for the second time, although with a new name, the Government proposal for the introduction of Child Abuse Prevention Orders. These could result in people who have been acquitted of serious criminal allegations nevertheless being under effective house arrest for an extended period. How can a party that supposedly believes in the Rule of Law trash the Bill of Rights? -
Spying on another journalist – what did Key have to hide?
Now we learn that another Key enquiry spied on “teapot tape” reporter Bradley Ambrose. This government under John Key does not use its spying powers competently or appropriately. There is no guarantee that some future government will not be even worse. The Key-Dunne spying Bill should be rejected pending a proper enquiry and proper safeguards. Peter Dunne, please take note.
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The teapot tapes and Andrea Vance’s emails
The Herald reported this morning that the police had previously obtained a warrant to seize Bradley Ambrose text messages. It seems that in New Zealand a journalist’s rights of privacy do not count for much. And John Key’s actions to protect his privacy using extreme measures but more recently in trashing Andrea Vance’s privacy again with extreme measures are jarring.
