Conservatism and Progressivism
Conservatism is all about maintaining the status quo. It assumes that the status quo is essentially ok, while change is best avoided. The […]
articles
Does money buy happiness after all?
In 1974, economist Richard Easterlin, published a study in which he argued that economic growth didn’t necessarily lead to more satisfaction. In poor […]
Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand
The NY Times reports on the symbiotic relationship between media “military analysts” and the Bush administration. Records and interviews show how the Bush […]
Beware the Tory wolf in liberal clothing
Polly Toynbee of The Guardian writes: “Beware the lesson of the Tory wolf in liberal clothing: Sweden’s great social democracy has been transformed […]
Finlay MacDonald: The Audacity of Hype
A reader wrote to us to say that they’d recently seen Finlay MacDonald speak at Otago University as part of the Distinguished Communicator […]
Guest post: Simon Tegg on Peak Oil
Meet Guest post. Guest post is 32 years old, he likes long walks on the beach and lively political debate. He is our […]
SST recycles discredited National party spin
Rob Stock apparently holds several awards for personal finance reporting but looks unlikely to win another based on his rehash of National Party […]
Fairtrade: More than just branding
Do you buy Fairtrade products? Or do you think of it as just another marketing ploy? This recent article “Teach us how to […]
Espiner on National’s hypocrisy
From Colin’s blog: It’s time for National to put its mouth where its money is. After a week of climbing into Labour boots […]
Getting emotional about economics
Michael Shermer of the LA Times asks: “Would you rather earn $50,000 a year while other people make $25,000, or would you rather […]
Is inequality closing down our concern for others?
Jenny Russel of the Guardian writes, “As the middle classes feel the pain of comparison with the super-rich, we lose all enthusiasm for […]
Salvation Army report finds poverty in Godzone
A report out today from the Salvation Army acts as a reminder that despite a suite of policies designed to improve the lives […]
George Bush’s favourite painting
What does President Bush’s favourite painting say about him? The Guardian trys to find out. Bush claims that the artwork, which hangs in […]
The political brain – listen to this
A must hear for anyone interested in political marketing and influencing voters. This item played on Chris Laidlaw’s Sunday show on Radio NZ […]
Is Barack Obama dull?
Armando Iannucci from The Observer wonders whether he’s the only person to find Barack Obama dull: Like Will Smith, who in the new […]
The best of The Standard in 2007
As we contemplate a bad year in the polls for Labour, the signs are pointing to National cruising onto victory in 2008. Or […]
A New Year’s wish
As a kid growing up in the countryside I recall being startled by the realisation that there were people in the world who […]
Rules of the game
Just had a read of Colin Espiner’s latest opinion piece. He certainly doesn’t pull any punches. Here’s what he has to say about […]
Electoral Finance Bill – some sense at last?
I’m not always a fan of Colin Espiner’s work, but thank goodness someone’s injected a bit of sense into this morning’s hysteria over […]
Defining political conservatism
A month or so ago we posted on a study that appeared to show that the brains of conservative and liberals differed. A […]
Trotter in the Independent
Apologies to The Independent Financial Review and to Chris Trotter for this rather large cut and paste from the second half of his […]
Ig Nobel awards
This years’ Ig Nobel awards have just been presented. The awards recognise achievements that “first make people laugh, then make them think”. Pictured […]
Che
Today is the 40th anniversary of Che Guevara’s death. The BBC has a piece up titled “Che: the icon and the ad” tracing […]
Are you biased?
And would you even know if you were? A team of researchers have set up an online test that can help to uncover […]
Ralston on National
A good read from Bill Ralston in the Herald today. He observes what seems to have been a turn in media and public […]
Ethical coffee good for business
The Guardian reports that “Growing consumer demand for ethically sourced coffee has fuelled a huge year-on-year rise in sales”. Global sales of coffee, […]
O’Sullivan defends Key’s comments
Fran O’Sullivan of the Herald, has lept to John Key’s defence. She points to a couple of times back in 2003 when Clark […]
Many a true word is spoken in jest
The NBR this week – hardly a publication known for its politically balanced coverage – includes digs at both National Party blogger David […]
Comment here. Get famous.
The NY Times reports: DASHIV is in town and the celebration has not ceased. Strange women are opening their apartments to him. Three […]
Pick your own price for Radiohead album
If you read yesterday’s post about music and copyright this might be of interest. If not, umm, well sorry. Radiohead are about to […]
Liberal and conservative brains differ
A recent neurobiology study suggests that liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives. The result seems to be strongly tied to low-level […]
Good Copy, Bad Copy
I just watched a fantastic Danish documentary, “Good Copy, Bad Copy”. The hour long film is about art, culture, copyright and freedom – […]
McCarten on privatisation
McCarten’s column in the Herald today asks readers to get out and vote in local body elections – particularly for candidates opposed to […]
Tasers for every man, woman, child?
Police Minister Annette King has sensibly decided to wait for a police report on their trial of the Taser stun gun before making […]
Does recycling really work?
Here’s an interesting article from The Economist entitled “The truth about recycling”. It sets out to answer some of the big questions about […]
Traveling green(er)
Yesterday the PM helped launch Cityhop – a rental car company who park their cars around the Auckland CBD. The cars can be […]