Archive for November, 2006

• 

  Brash goes but will Nats change their ways? - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Well Brash has resigned from Parliament and National will hope that his departure will take the heat out of the revelations in Hager’s book. But I’m not so sure. Until National comes out and admits it broke the laws around campaign spending and supports reform of the campaign spending laws there will be a big [...] read more
  November 30, 2006 3:13 pm - 49 Comments
• 

  Did Key deliver Keenan’s Orewa II speech? - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  In Hager’s book, the National Party strategist and speech writer Peter Keenan wanted Brash’s January 2005 Orewa II speech to be about the environment (chapter 9). He thought a speech attacking welfare might not go down so well with women. He was right of course but Brash went ahead anyway with the beneficiary bashing speech. [...] read more
  November 30, 2006 2:15 pm - 16 Comments
• 

  Getting a sustainable bargain – orangutans excepted - by frog

  
  
  
  There may be lots of bad things about big-box retailers, but in other respects you’ve got to hand it to The Warehouse. They produce an annual Society and Environment Report detailing the social and environmental goals and practices of the company, including their greenhouse gas emissions (which reduced 2.4% in the last year), electronic waste [...] read more
  November 30, 2006 2:13 pm - 13 Comments
• 

  Just for those who don’t think there are enough conservation stories… - by frog

  
  
  
  …I thought I’d highlight that the Ministry of Fisheries is considering temporarily closing the Kermadec Islands to longline fishing to prevent more seabed deaths, after 51 Antipodean Albatross were caught by one vessel on one expedition. We should all be urging the Minister to go through with this proposal, and to introduce further regulations, as [...] read more
  November 29, 2006 3:12 pm - 20 Comments
• 

  Response to the stadium decision - by frog

  
  
  
  So I think we’re all breathing a collective sigh of relief that plans for the controversial waterfront stadium have been dropped, but the dramas are not over by any means. Now Eden Park and the government are putting pressure on the Auckland Regional Council to contribute to the Eden Park upgrade, and the Auckland City [...] read more
  November 28, 2006 2:55 pm - 38 Comments
• 

  More from The Hollow Men - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  So we have Key and English leading National. We shall see how they go but they have got a major problem hanging over them as a result of the unethical and, if the evidence is right, unlawful behaviour of the National Party in the lead up to the last election as revealed in Hager’s book. [...] read more
  November 27, 2006 5:55 pm - 72 Comments
• 

  The Hollow Men – T.S Eliot - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass Or rats’ feet over broken glass In our dry cellar Shape without form, shade without colour, Paralysed force, gesture without motion; Those [...] read more
  November 26, 2006 4:26 pm - 6 Comments
• 

  Exclusive Brethren at it again - by frog

  
  
  
  There’s a certain irony in that while papers in New Zealand devote their first few pages to the demise of Don, across the Tasman the Melbourne Age leads with a story about Exclusive Brethren involvement in the Victoria state elections. It’s the same old stuff. The EBs have taken out advertising in the Age and [...] read more
  November 24, 2006 4:35 pm - 53 Comments
• 

  Don’s gone – but not before lunchtime - by frog

  
  
  
  National Party Leader Don Brash is gone. For those of you who have missed the news, just after lunchtime – at 1pm today – Don announced he would step down from the party’s leadership. Did he jump – or was he pushed? It was something he’d been thinking about for a couple of weeks, he [...] read more
  November 23, 2006 3:32 pm - 46 Comments
• 

  Solar Water Heating Programme launched - by frog

  
  
  
  Jeanette and Energy and Climate Change Minister David Parker launched the government solar water heating programme secured by the Greens as part of the confidence and supply agreement after the last election at Parliament today. The goal is to double the number of solar water heaters being installed in New Zealand by 2010. This has [...] read more
  November 23, 2006 11:22 am - 87 Comments
• 

  Irony? - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  According to a Weekend Worldwatch documentary on Sunday morning, states bordering the arctic sea are racing to lay claim to large tracts of the sea. (I can’t find a = link to the Worldwatch doco, but here’s a similar story ) The reason being that global warming is melting ice in the area and thus [...] read more
  November 22, 2006 4:46 pm - 22 Comments
• 

  Gross misuse of Taser - by frog

  
  
  
  Not from New Zealand (thank goodness) but here’s one for the anti-Taser file: In this You Tube video, a UCLA student is tased repeatedly after failing to comply with a random late-night ID check in a computer lab at one of the University’s libraries. The handheld camera footage is a little shaky and hard to [...] read more
  November 22, 2006 11:31 am - 24 Comments
• 

  What to make of the new s59? - by frog

  
  
  
  So the Justice and Electoral Select Committee has reported back on Sue B’s bill to repeal section 59 of the Crimes Act. By now you will have seen news reports of the committee’s proposed amendments, which raise some interesting issues. I thought a reproduction in full of some of the key sections would be useful. [...] read more
  November 21, 2006 2:36 pm - 36 Comments
• 

  In the North - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Have just returned to Wellington from a four day trip around the North – Orewa, Whangarei, Keri Keri and Kaitaia. In Whangarei the Greens sold tickets to a completely packed out showing of Al Gore’s movie (200+ people) and I spoke afterwards and answered questions. In Whangarei they are now in the invidious position of [...] read more
  November 21, 2006 1:49 pm - 5 Comments
• 

  Rod Oram waves the danger flag - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Went along to Rod Oram’s presentation at Vic Uni Law School yesterday. He pretends to be a documentary maker pitching a documentary idea and the topic is the environmental record of NZ. You can read more about it here. Oram in character points to our woeful record on land management, soil loss, forest loss, biodiversity [...] read more
  November 17, 2006 5:28 pm - 8 Comments
• 

  More TV-related stuff - by frog

  
  
  
  I meant to write about this yesterday, in my TV-themed post, but ran out of time. The Center for Media and Democracy publishes a very valuable resource called PR Watch, committed to investigating and exposing the often nefarious activites of the Public Relations industry in shaping public debate and opinion. One tactic often used is [...] read more
  November 16, 2006 11:38 am - 18 Comments
• 

  TV times - by frog

  
  
  
  Arabic news service Al Jazeera is launching its English-language world news service today, news which will no doubt be welcome to anyone who’s seen the excellent documentary about Al Jazeera, Control Room. British PM Tony Blair is the first interview subject they have lined up. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it will be easy to [...] read more
  November 15, 2006 2:14 pm - 39 Comments
• 

  Al Gore today - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Well Jeanette and I went along and listened to Al. You can hear my interview about it on NatRad here. There wasn’t a lot that was new in it – mostly the same as in the movie – but he did update some of the info – eg apparently the antarctic ice core research data [...] read more
  November 14, 2006 9:52 pm - 77 Comments
• 

  “Tremendous” leadership on climate change? - by frog

  
  
  
  It’s great that Al Gore was able to deliver his climate change slide show and discuss the issue with an audience of MPs and key business people this morning. Jeanette and Russel were there (although not Michael Cullen, who Jeanette thinks should have been). I have great respect for Al Gore and An Inconvenient Truth, [...] read more
  November 14, 2006 3:17 pm - 15 Comments
• 

  Stadium madness - by frog

  
  
  
  OK, so what do people think about this stadium business? I’ve been loosely following it over the past week or so and I must say I find it hard to come to grips with all the issues and the various interested groups who have a stake in the decision, and who actually gets the final [...] read more
  November 14, 2006 12:07 pm - 59 Comments