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Fire at will (90 days) law a great success!

Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, June 17th, 2016 - 104 comments

Or not. More National ideology burned to the ground by facts.

Orlando; Owen Jones On Homophobia.

Written By: - Date published: 7:42 pm, June 14th, 2016 - 70 comments

Guardian journalist Owen Jones nails the failure of many to call the Orlando killings what they are; homophobic  terrorism. It’s not an excuse for anti-muslim hysteria, as Trump, Seymour and Peters would have it, it’s the worst single attack on LGBT people since the holocaust.

Why American Foreign Policy still matters

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, June 14th, 2016 - 17 comments

So what should the next President of the United States focus on?  Military power or economic domination or international institutions?

Official climate change fraud

Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, June 14th, 2016 - 136 comments

Scientists and experts have been knowingly understating the unfolding climate change catastrophe to governments and decision makers. Why? For the sake of what is “politically palatable”.

The ghost house epidemic and the invisible hand

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, June 13th, 2016 - 54 comments

Last year there were officially 22,000 unoccupied properties in Auckland. This year 33,000 are officially classified as empty. “Auckland’s 6.6 per cent vacancy rate is higher than either Sydney (5.2 per cent) or Melbourne (4.8 per cent), where there has been an uproar over “ghost houses” deliberately left empty by speculators trading on a soaring market”. This is madness.

Essential reading – Hickey on immigration

Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, June 12th, 2016 - 133 comments

Hickey: “Helping employers to bring in low-skilled migrants instead of investing in new technology and becoming more productive so they can pay local workers more is essentially stunting our productivity and real GDP per capita.”

The Sky City ghost jobs

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, June 8th, 2016 - 63 comments

Radio New Zealand has reported that the promised jobs relating to the construction of the Convention Centre are appearing. But in Thailand, not New Zealand.  Updated with comment on the terms of the supplemental agreement.

Taihoa on Immigration?

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, June 7th, 2016 - 213 comments

Winston Peters has called for a slashing of migrant worker numbers and for screening of would be workers based on things like their attitude to women. Is it time for a taihoa on immigration or is Winston just doing a Trump?

Switzerland votes against UBI

Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, June 7th, 2016 - 35 comments

Seems the path towards acceptance of the UBI is not going to be smooth.

The election campaign, the $6,000 toaster and the media beat up

Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, June 5th, 2016 - 24 comments

In Australia in the midst of the election campaign an ordinary Australian, Duncan Storrar, talked publicly about how difficult it was to live and support his children on the minimum wage.  The response of the right through News Corp was to attack and humiliate him.

Is the petro world in decline?

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, June 2nd, 2016 - 13 comments

There are various suggestions that the metro industry’s domination of the world may be in decline.

Waking up to the realities of neoliberalism and austerity

Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, June 1st, 2016 - 159 comments

Even the IMF now acknowledges that neoliberal economics and government austerity policies have failed. Look around at New Zealand – you can see the effects.

More Panama papers and other dirty money

Written By: - Date published: 6:38 am, May 30th, 2016 - 143 comments

Both One News and The Herald have pieces this morning highlighting different cases of dirty money being “filtered” through NZ. Panama papers, National donors, SkyCity and more…

Time to wake up to the Electricity Authority

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, May 29th, 2016 - 46 comments

The Electricity Authority is planning hearings on proposals that will mean that Rio Tinto will save money on electricity charges but people living in Auckland and Northland will pay more.  Time to make your voices heard.

Guest Post: Dancing to the Neo-Liberal Songbook

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, May 23rd, 2016 - 25 comments

In a guest post, regular commenter Tony Veitch takes some learnings from Noam Chomsky’s latest documentary Requiem for the American Dream. The neo-liberal plan has been in place for over thirty years. How come we’re only just starting to understand it?

We’re going to burn it all, until we burn it down.

Written By: - Date published: 12:11 am, May 20th, 2016 - 173 comments

What does it really mean to reduce NZ’s total fossil fuel use by 50% by 2030: a warm up discussion for an upcoming thought experiment.

Key to Homeless: You Can Stay at Mine

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, May 18th, 2016 - 54 comments

Prime Minister John Key has today announced a radical plan to solve the housing crisis. The homeless are now welcome to go flatting with him in his Parnell bach. The plan includes draining the swimming pool and subdividing it into flats, putting hammocks in the palm trees and making soup in the pool cabana’s kitchen. Max Key may have to move out to make way for the homeless, but the PM described that as a painful sacrifice he was now willing to make in the light of his son’s most recent social media posting.

NZ fishery catch 2.7 times reported – new study says

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 16th, 2016 - 15 comments

“The findings also reveal how the Quota Management System, despite its intentions and international reputation, actually undermines sustainable fisheries management by inadvertently incentivising misreporting and dumping,” University of Auckland’s Dr Glenn Simmons said.

Make the TPP a Conscience Vote

Written By: - Date published: 6:29 pm, May 15th, 2016 - 84 comments

Last week, Andrew Little gave Phil Goff permission to vote with National for the TPP. Bryan Bruce asks if it is time for all MPs to be given a conscience vote on the TPP.

Take action on tax haven corruption? NZ says – meh

Written By: - Date published: 3:04 pm, May 14th, 2016 - 51 comments

The Nats are all over the place on this, and they’re trashing our reputation in the process.

Competition lapdog a cert to approve newspaper monopoly

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, May 14th, 2016 - 43 comments

“The newspaper market is buggered anyway. I wouldn’t expect we will have any daily newspapers in ten year’s time,” says Brian Gaynor.

Laundering earnings vs laundering money

Written By: - Date published: 4:49 pm, May 13th, 2016 - 35 comments

When a corporation launders its earnings in a tax haven, it is completely upfront about where the money came from and who it belongs to, which differentiates the activity from “money laundering.”

It Feels Kinda Half Baked.

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, May 13th, 2016 - 26 comments

Maybe you didn’t hear that this week is NZ sign language week…

Fixing the tax haven – what’s the downside?

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, May 13th, 2016 - 75 comments

Fixing our tax haven loopholes is easy but Key won’t act. Why?

What the TTIP teaches us about the TPP

Written By: - Date published: 9:40 am, May 13th, 2016 - 11 comments

TTIP, TTPA, same game around the globe, a take-over by American corporations, with the rights of the public held in no regard whatsoever.

National Party President selling out?

Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, May 12th, 2016 - 14 comments

The $25 million deal prompted considerable curiosity because it involved an off-market purchase of shares from Sanford’s second biggest shareholder, Avalon Investment Trust, which is run by the family of Peter Goodfellow.

John Key’s dead cat strategy

Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, May 12th, 2016 - 52 comments

National is hoping to avoid a proper debate about issues raised by the Panama Papers by raising a series of idiotic diversions.

Fairfax and NZME and merger talks on

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, May 11th, 2016 - 13 comments

As previously discussed here, bad for the media, bad for democracy.

Key lashes out with the smears over tax haven status

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, May 11th, 2016 - 122 comments

Key was disgraceful in parliament yesterday, doing his buffoon act to try and trivialise the tax haven issue, and lashing out with the smears.

APN Fairfax NZ merger?

Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, May 10th, 2016 - 20 comments

A healthy democracy requires a healthy media, and in NZ both are getting sicker.

John Key vs the world

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, May 10th, 2016 - 22 comments

Is John Key the only international leader defending tax havens? Includes bonus international media round up of yesterday’s revelations.

There is a suppression in place on parts of the Phillips case/shooting.
We don't know what it covers because (stupidly) the courts do not inform us on what is covered.
So everything is suppressed here on these matters until further notice.