Posts by Sacha
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Hard News: The Politics of Absence, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
I’m not really seeing the equivalence there
teeworthy
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Hard News: Where are the foreigners?!, in reply to Paul Campbell,
Yet tourist attractions suited to visits by campervan prospered, like the Albatross one mentioned. Be interesting to see the official RWC projections before the tournament about the proportion of traveller modes expected.
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Hard News: About Occupy Wall Street, in reply to Joe Wylie,
The always excellent Avonside Blog has a brief and to-the-point post on the bigger picture:
Briliant joining of dots between Occupy Wall Street and #eqnz.
Is it harsh to say that our politicians are like their brethren elsewhere - more interested in representing narrow private interests than the country or city that are supposed to be their constituencies? Probably not. At the national level financial bail-outs, and general support to big business, has been associated with a history of a light touch on the controls of anything to do with organized money. In the absence of proper restraints organised money and it's businesses have been able to do almost as they wish without paying the price - the price is paid by the public.
In the area of earthquake recovery, confidential arrangements with insurance companies, secrecy over the state of the land, failure to provide a suitable mechanism for dealing with disputes (land zoning, insurance assessments), and blind subservience to market forces when the playing field is not level, would suggest it is a continuing state of affairs.
Local government deference to the requirements of developers and investors, a lack of openness with intentions and decision making, and overt attempts to prevent support and advocacy services being provided to those in dispute with insurers, suggest a similar distorted situation exists at the local level too.
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Hard News: The Politics of Absence, in reply to Sacha,
the RWC opening night chaos
Pimpin earlier thread for any who missed it.
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Matt McCarten compares the government's political management of the Rena oil spill with the RWC opening night chaos.
McCully was cynically opportunistic and, in my view, insincere but it was masterful political management. His swift grandstanding ensured the Government got off the hook and most people would have got the impression that it was the council's fault.
Contrast that with Joyce's mishandling of Rena. He didn't even get to Tauranga until four days after the ship ran aground. Having the Transport Minister prattling on, saying all had been done that could be done, was just stupid.
For days everyone could see on the nightly television news footage of the ship in calm seas, leaking oil that was washing up on the beaches. It was plain to see that nothing obvious was being done.
The only members of Parliament visible from the start were from the Green Party.
This disaster, of course, is something they would take leadership on. But they did better than that - they sent their entire caucus. The Greens now own this story politically. The rest of the parties have to play catch-up.
And where was Key? The day after the wreck, there was a picture of our smiling Prime Minister in the New Zealand Herald, pretending to put up a campaign billboard for his Hamilton candidate.
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Hard News: About Occupy Wall Street, in reply to Christopher Dempsey,
walked 10 meters or so, then stop. Not sure why
caffeine deficiency
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Hard News: About Occupy Wall Street, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
a update from the likes of Hilary Stace
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Gerry to the rescue, overriding urban planning to allow more old-style sprawling suburbs for 45,000 houses. Let the land-bankers and developers rejoice. Pork for Christmas.
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Hard News: The Sound of Music, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
any relation to "Go Anna" that rude Aussie sheila?
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Hard News: The Sound of Music, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
I'm getting the impression that the Rena oil map pic I posted may have come from Jody originally too. Smart bloke.