activism

Categories under activism

Are we drifting away or falling apart?

Written By: - Date published: 1:53 pm, May 18th, 2024 - 16 comments

What is the antidote for our socio-economic problems and how do we deal with this coalition government?

The GCSB revelations

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, March 24th, 2024 - 24 comments

RNZ has reported that a foreign agency collected signals intelligence out of the GCSB for years without ministers knowing. And the collection only stopped after the equipment broke down.

Has Labour become a cadre Party? Pt 1 Leadership

Written By: - Date published: 4:43 pm, November 2nd, 2023 - 18 comments

In 2021, I voted against Labour’s conference proposal for midstream leadership change to be determined by Caucus alone, saying that it risked Labour becoming a cadre party for elites. A series of posts will start with why the Caucus should not rush to a leadership vote.

Down to the wire

Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, October 12th, 2023 - 52 comments

Two new polls were released last night and they both confirm a tightening of the race with the right slumping and the left improving.

My Way or the Huawei

Written By: - Date published: 5:06 am, September 17th, 2023 - 9 comments

I like my Huawei phone. I’m looking forward to the new Mate 60Pro. It’s launch means the US-led sanctions aiming to crush Huawei, with New Zealand as a fast follower, have completely failed to set back Chinese technology.

Self-destructive stupidity, New Zealand style

Written By: - Date published: 5:51 am, August 27th, 2023 - 25 comments

Belief in capricious gods would explain the perplexing habit of governments with intelligent and informed people to embrace policies which are manifestly an example of self-destructive stupidity. Clever people doing stupid things.

Don’t Stop

Written By: - Date published: 6:16 am, June 21st, 2023 - 20 comments

“Meanwhile, oil companies are enjoying record profits”

Extinction Rebellion: The Big One

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, April 17th, 2023 - 6 comments

XR are back. New strategy, same smart and bold action.

How Activism Dies

Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, March 4th, 2023 - 40 comments

If anything progressive is to come out of this current government other than disaster recovery, really focused protest must prevail. It isn’t.

What To Do About Climate Change

Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, February 25th, 2023 - Comments Off on What To Do About Climate Change

West Auckland’s activism, through such examples as the Arc in the Park sanctuary to the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area through to the protection of the environment provided by the South Titirangi Neighbourhood Network, provides examples of the sort of activism that may be needed if Aotearoa New Zealand is to deal properly with climate change mitigation.

The Occupy Movement and the response to the 2008 financial crisis

Written By: - Date published: 1:39 am, January 14th, 2023 - 4 comments

We are the 99%

As the world currently goes through a post-pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine fuelled economic crisis, it is interesting to reflect on the economic crisis of over a decade ago and how the public responded at that time.

Sunflower | Oil

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, October 16th, 2022 - 81 comments

Van Gogh and Picasso as climate action targets. Destroying beauty is an act of self harm. On one level it’s wrong, but when we are desperate, it’s also an act of power.

Tāme

Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, September 22nd, 2022 - 18 comments

Tāme Iti’s pitch perfect, political performance art sets activist hearts aflutter.

Stuff’s Fire and Fury major investigation into the occupation of Parliament grounds

Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, August 14th, 2022 - 71 comments

The Wellington occupation was supposed to be about ending the mandates, but a new Stuff Circuit documentary investigates those behind the protest and discovers they have far bigger and more dangerous goals.

What New Zealanders are thinking about climate change

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, August 3rd, 2022 - 29 comments

A new Ipsos poll has some good news.

Emeritus Professor Jane Kelsey Valedictory Lecture

Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, July 29th, 2022 - 12 comments

Academic activism and speaking truth to power.

James Shaw and the Green Party co-leadership

Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, July 24th, 2022 - 189 comments

The tension in the Green Party is between pragmatism and the need for urgent system change.

For the public, there’s no need to panic. Dissent is valuable and healthy in politics. It sits alongside trusting that the Greens know how to manage their internal processes even if the public at large doesn’t understand them well.

 

Climate Action Mondays: after the IPCC report, what now?

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, April 11th, 2022 - 87 comments

It’s time to act as if our lives depend on it.

Climate Action Mondays: slow fashion

Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, April 4th, 2022 - 44 comments

It’s time to act as if our lives depend on it. Here are the things we can do and we can require government and business to do.

Climate Action Mondays

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, March 21st, 2022 - 33 comments

It’s time to act as if our lives depend on it.

Blinken and Blind-Sided?

Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, January 16th, 2022 - 17 comments

Russian peacekeepers are already leaving Kazakhstan having nipped the ‘colour revolution’ in the bud. Blinken clearly didn’t have a clue when he said Russians never leave the house. Russian intelligence was superb. Now we wait for Russia’s response to US likely refusal to pull back from its borders. One thing I’d bet on – no invasion of Ukraine.

Is it time for the Greens to go their own way?

Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, January 11th, 2022 - 122 comments

Climate, ecology, welfare, housing – we are now at the point for the Greens to go ‘fuck it, time to go back to our radical roots’.

 

No Right Turn: Spy cameras literally are

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, June 29th, 2021 - 21 comments

Its time for our local authorities (and other bodies such as NZTA) to come clean, and confess whether they allow the SIS to access their camera networks in this way. That would allow the people to judge whether it is acceptable, and hold them accountable if they feel it necessary. But I suspect that that prospect is precisely why the SIS has kept this secret for so long.

The Problem with Personification in Politics

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 19th, 2021 - 12 comments

It is a grave mistake to treat Ministries as if they are real persons.

Einstein versus Trump*

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 18th, 2021 - 10 comments

Einstein tried to explain complex things and understand reality; Trump tried to explain it away and distort reality.

Greta Thunberg is now 18

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, April 2nd, 2021 - 59 comments

Greta Thunberg is now aged 18.  And her activism is still strong.

Reasons to abandon NZ’s Five-Eyed Folly

Written By: - Date published: 2:35 pm, February 4th, 2021 - 29 comments


Wayne Brown’s recent suggestion “Is it time to sell our seat on FiveEyes?” is from someone well placed by experience to form an educated opinion. “Trade sanctions of the type Australia is facing are a weapon used by both USA and China. So let’s have a debate on whether we need Five Eyes, or whether it’s time for us to trade on independently.”

No extradition for Assange

Written By: - Date published: 12:27 am, January 5th, 2021 - 104 comments

Great news. While unexpected, Nicky Hager who was an expert witness for Assange at the trial, thought this might be a possibility when he spoke to the Fabian Society in November. More details tomorrow.

Update: Bail application to be heard on Wednesday London time.

Words of Outrage or Outrageous Action?

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, December 24th, 2020 - 30 comments

Do you reward rage with rage or do you ignore it and walk away quietly?

Blind-sided by Five Eyes

Written By: - Date published: 2:34 pm, December 12th, 2020 - 13 comments

It has been good to see some pushback in the media questioning the wisdom of  Mahuta’s FiveEyes alignment as the first public act of her tenure as our Foreign Minister. Chris Trotter writes in interest.co.nz that upsetting New Zealand’s most significant trading partner seems like a very silly thing to do. Others include Bryce Edwards […]

Assange’s torture and the death of journalism

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 pm, September 6th, 2020 - 60 comments

On the eve of Assange’s extradition hearing in London, award-winning freelancer Jonathan Cook has written a scathing indictment of corporate journalism’s collusion in ignoring his official torture. I posted an example of that here last year, where Richard Harman denied Assange was a journalist at a panel convened at Parliament by the British High Commissioner.

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