Archive for September, 2012
Friday, September 28th, 2012
As predicted in yesterday’s column, the restrictions in the Inspector-General’s own guiding legislation have prevented him from reporting adequately on (a) issues of Ministerial responsibility or (b) the scope and significance of the information obtained via this illegal surveillance (c) who has enjoyed access to it, and (d) whether such ...
Posted in Articles | 4 Comments »
Thursday, September 27th, 2012
Who watches the watchers? Putting in place effective oversight mechanisms for intelligence agencies is a chronic problem in Western democracies. Given the recent revelations of the illegal surveillance of Kim Dotcom and his associates by the GCSB (with the possible collusion of the SIS) the public is supposed to feel ...
Posted in Articles | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, September 25th, 2012
Well, John Key promised us a different style of government than what we’d had from Helen Clark. No more of that being on top of every detail in every portfolio. Do that, and people not only get sick to death of you (no one likes a know-all) but you can ...
Posted in Articles | 18 Comments »
Monday, September 24th, 2012
By the week, the “welfare reforms” of Social Development Minister Paula Bennett are starting to look more like the Cave Creek viewing platform than a properly designed and well built piece of social engineering. First, the arbitrary nature of the welfare reforms came to light. When asked recently by RNZ’s ...
Posted in Articles | 6 Comments »
Friday, September 21st, 2012
See if you can guess the name of the country that the Stratfor think tank is talking about here. Hint: it is a country that has had a long running dispute about access to its ports by US warships, but is in discussions with US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta to ...
Posted in Articles | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, September 19th, 2012
One shouldn’t take pleasure in the misfortune of others, but one can always make an exception for Mitt Romney. Romney is now trying to defend his latest disastrous utterances as an accurate – but inelegant – critique of dependency on the government, but that argument doesn’t stack up for several ...
Posted in Articles | 9 Comments »
Tuesday, September 18th, 2012
Don’t ask, don’t tell. The “gays in the military” strategy that John Key has chosen to adopt with respect to the John Banks Affair is daily calling for more and more implausible declarations of prophylactic ignorance by the Prime Minister. Look, if John Banks said he wasn’t a crook then ...
Posted in Articles | 7 Comments »
Monday, September 17th, 2012
Watching a round of hair pulling and name-calling between journalists is rarely a rewarding sight, so I apologise in advance to anyone of a nervous or irritable disposition for this morning’s column. Allegedly, I have been unfair and mean to John Armstrong of the NZ Herald, who spent an entire ...
Posted in Articles | 34 Comments »
Thursday, September 13th, 2012
When governments brag about the jobs their economic policies are creating, the public should regard the figures as being as reliable as a John Banks' mayoral expenses declaration. During only the past week for instance, Finance Minister Bill English has claimed a net gain of 50,000 new jobs over the ...
Posted in Articles | 10 Comments »
Wednesday, September 12th, 2012
Paula Bennett’s refusal to front up on National Radio this morning and discuss her latest spasm of beneficiary policy is symptomatic of her overall performance as Minister. The Social Development Minister is happy to announce any number of 'get tough' measures for those on benefits, but is unwilling to fulfil ...
Posted in Articles | 12 Comments »
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