you couldn’t make this shit up

Rupert Murdoch on Charlie Hebdo

Written By: redfed - Date published: 8:30 am, January 11th, 2015 - 123 comments

Rupert Murdoch has tweeted questioning if most Moslems are peaceful and saying they are responsible for extremists within their ranks.

SkyCity’s expected subvention explained for John Roughan

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:28 am, December 27th, 2014 - 42 comments

At last, some of our conservative short-term thinkers have woken up to the elephant in the room with the SkyCity convention centre subvention. Years late and their previous support has cost taxpayers dearly already. Perhaps they could learn to read reports? And think before committing us to be suckers?

Teapot tapes released!

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:00 pm, December 9th, 2014 - 7 comments

As the matter seems to be heading for trial now is a good time for the audio from the teapot tapes to be released.

NRT: National’s failure on housing

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:54 pm, October 21st, 2014 - 25 comments

A year ago National rammed through special housing areas promising 9000 homes consented in the first year under it. Over the last year they have managed to build 5 and consented 294. Nick Smith fails maths yet again. This year 13,000 – yeah right!

Eminem sues National

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 3:11 pm, September 16th, 2014 - 182 comments

Eminem is suing the National Party for breaching his copyright in the song “Lose yourself” used by National in its campaign video. Stephen Joyce previously claimed that National had the full rights to use it. But it appears that this may not be the case. Update: There may be some interesting legal issues for National if it loses in terms of its spending cap and the Electoral Commission broadcast allocation.

Polity: Key waves hands, insipidly

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:12 pm, September 9th, 2014 - 34 comments

Nationals hypothetical tax cut package has not gone down well. People do not appear to like the fact that it is small, hypothetical, and irresponsible, all at once.This is what you get when you have a prime minister so weakly desperate for public approval that they make up policy by accident and then push that poor decision through their cabinet and caucus.

NRT: Sensationalising the status quo

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:41 pm, September 4th, 2014 - 55 comments

Pity the political reporter. Committed to horse-race style reporting and desperate for an ‘angle’. Patrick Gower on 3 News last night was desperately talking up how “complicated’ National’s… current arrangements are?? Use your brain Paddy…

Fairfax Media’s polling on Dirty Politics

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:07 am, August 30th, 2014 - 44 comments

The latest Dominion Post contains survey data on people’s responses to Dirty Politics but attempts to manufacture a message by quoting selected interviews suggesting that Labour and not National have been hurt by Hager’s revelations.  The headlines though are that half of all New Zealanders think less highly of John Key and 7.9% of voters are considering changing their vote.  National should be afraid.

The moral low ground

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 3:00 pm, August 18th, 2014 - 45 comments

Revulsion. That’s what’s coming out from a range of people who have ploughed through the inner thoughts of Slater, Farrar, Ede, Collins, Lusk, Odgers, Jordan Williams – they’re all repulsive. It’s the strength of that gut feeling in response that will sink their plot. Despite all John Key’s efforts to move as quickly as possible to the end of the day, …it’s still not ok.  Key’s try at cover up is pathetic, and doomed to be futile. But what it shows is that he has chosen the moral low ground with the rest of them. TeamKey indeed.

Naming the game

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 6:34 pm, August 12th, 2014 - 78 comments

It’s been interesting to watch the nats and their busy little helpers working away at branding the election campaign as a nasty one.

It’s been disappointing to watch the media falling for it so hard.

NRT: National’s roads are pure pork

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:03 pm, July 29th, 2014 - 13 comments

The extent that the National minister have been pork-barreling the roading budget for their electorates is crazy. The OIA’s show that most of the $212 million announced by John Key at the National party conference is pure pork for ministers. They are assessed as costing more money to build than they will ever produce in benefits, even using NZTA’s infamously overoptimistic assessments. National MPs and Ministers want to be seen as delivering something for their electorates before the election. So much for assessing needs based on merits. They must be really worried about this election to misuse so much pork.

NRT: Docs or its bullshit

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:48 pm, July 18th, 2014 - 5 comments

Over the weekend we learned that police had been juking the stats, recoding burglaries as “incidents” to make themselves and their Minister look good. But its all fine now, supposedly – the police claim they’ve instituted a series of spot audits to ensure it can never happen again. Except when they’re asked for information about these supposed safeguards and whether they’ve uncovered any problems, they suddenly can’t find anything… Sounds like bullshit and spin.

Dotcom – Who applied the political pressure?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:46 am, July 16th, 2014 - 219 comments

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?

National wanted Dotcom to stay in NZ

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:30 am, July 15th, 2014 - 202 comments

The Herald is reporting that direct political pressure was applied on Immigration NZ to grant Kim Dotcom and his family residence in New Zealand. And the SIS tried to block the application but dropped their objection after being told there was “political pressure”.

Updated with more links

Take action against the Herald’s lies

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 8:32 pm, June 25th, 2014 - 89 comments

The Herald needs to explain why they think they can print anti-democratic lies and get away with it.

Make them answer. Make a complaint.