activism

Categories under activism

Snowden performed a public service

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, January 4th, 2014 - 99 comments

The New York Times has an editorial stating that Edward Snowden should be regarded as a whistleblower who has done the public there and elsewhere a service by revealing the illegal extent of the NSA’s surveillance. What is most interesting in the extremely well linked editorial is that there is this curious hole in the US whistle blower laws that many including Barack Obama have said he could have used. They don’t cover contractors….

GCSB: They do listen

Written By: - Date published: 5:40 am, January 4th, 2014 - 36 comments

It has been a surprise at just how far the revelations about the GCSB governance have made into the collective conciousness of NZ. Bearing in mind the continuing outpouring from Snowden and other whistleblowers about the US and their allies surveillance efforts on citizens and friendly states, it isn’t going to be a surprise if this winds up being an issue in the election.

In the shadow of Savage

Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, December 26th, 2013 - 17 comments

25 December is a good day to visit historic sites.  Yesterday I visited the Savage Memorial in Auckland.  Political heritage in today’s environment.  A memorial for workers? Remember the Savage government!  Remember the Bastion Point protests!  Lessons for today?

Off The Pages…

Written By: - Date published: 5:43 pm, December 15th, 2013 - 17 comments

…and into the world.

What happened to the working class?

Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, December 15th, 2013 - 175 comments

In post WWII UK, working class people were gaining a stronger voice in public life.  Then came Thatcher and middle class capture of politics & the media.  Something similar happened in NZ.  How can those on low incomes and/or from the working classes gain a stronger voice in NZ politics?

Summer service: the real economy

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, December 14th, 2013 - 47 comments

The summer holiday period is a time when consumerism is rampant, contradicting the traditional Christian message .  It adds pressure to those already struggling, especially those with young families. Places to support via time, donations, gifts, etc.

NZ Herald editorial smears the Referendum

Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, November 30th, 2013 - 28 comments

NZ Herald editor/s selectively reports, omitting the full facts, in favour of the National government.  It misrepresents the referendum on asset sales, ignoring significant facts – thereby also seeming to discredit the Green Party, the referendum, & democracy.

Battle weary & marginalised: state housing

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, November 28th, 2013 - 61 comments

The National government is destroying NZ’s state housing system.  Right of tenure removed,  a shift towards private provision of “social housing”,  housing campaigners marginalised, & Tracy Watkins crowing about the shift from the “welfare state”. Greens & Mana are for more state houses.  And Labour? [Update] Picket of (Nat) Party for the Rich Dec 8 Akl. NZH article.

Nat government treachery destroys public broadcasting

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, November 21st, 2013 - 30 comments

Key’s government has destroyed the weak attempts by Labour to enable some public service broadcasting on Freeview.  The NActs have employed ideologically-driven, irrational, bad faith, underhand, agreement-breaking moves to protect commercial monopoly. The CBB is campaigning for non-commercial TV channels.

National day of action against rape culture: 16 Nov (&15th)

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, November 15th, 2013 - 197 comments

Tomorrow is A Day of Action Against Rape Culture.  There are a couple of actions starting today. Actions listed here, plus the reasons for the actions & demands/proposed solutions.  Will update with info on any further actions as they become available. [Update: warning – the discussion under this post contains some challenges to the day of action]

Key rewrites history for “Crazy Colin”

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 pm, November 13th, 2013 - 68 comments

Answering questions on the up-coming Asset Sales referendum, John Key spoke some appalling un-truths.  He is rewriting political history to suit “Crazy” Colin Craig’s possible coalition bottom lines on the “anti-smacking” law.   Cunliffe finally got there in the General Debate, but the opposition was too slow in countering Key’s lies & spin.

National day of action against rape culture: 16 Nov

Written By: - Date published: 2:15 pm, November 8th, 2013 - 96 comments

Important day of action against rape culture, 16th November.  The distressing Roastbuster case set off very important discussions, in-depth examination of the issues, & possible ways to dismantle the rape culture that is embedded in our mainstream culture. [Updates of demo locations & links on-going]

Sir Edmund Thomas: “Reducing Inequality” – new ‘Values’

Written By: - Date published: 5:48 pm, November 6th, 2013 - 29 comments

Sir Edmund Thomas’s recent Bruce Jesson Lecture is now online.  He argues for a need to reduce inequalities, via a change in values away from those directed by “neoliberal” economics, & for a struggle from “below”.  Is this intended to soften capitalism & not replace it?

On the waterfront: art & politics

Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, October 29th, 2013 - 81 comments

Auckland authorities disrespected past worker struggles in allowing an art work on the waterfront, that commemorates the ruthless suppression of the 1913 strike. After protests, it has now been covered.  Time for the many to unite for fairness at work & in daily living!

NSA: ‘full spectrum dominance’

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, October 28th, 2013 - 23 comments

Latest revelations about the NSA’s international surveillance show it is about “full spectrum dominance” of military, economic, business and political activities. The TICS Bill is the latest part of Key’s changes to NZ’s surveillance agencies, further enabling the US government dominance via NSA, especially in business & politics.

Fuck off, Bob Jones: and advertisers? Be warned

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, October 22nd, 2013 - 94 comments

Bob Jones has produced another disgusting “opinion piece”, and the New Zealand Herald has once again been disgusting enough to publish it. I completely understand that a lot of people don’t have the spoons for taking on yet another awful triggery misogynist piece of shit produced by an awful misogynist piece of shit.  On this […]

Discourage the pantie sniffers

Written By: - Date published: 9:01 pm, October 13th, 2013 - 30 comments

It isn’t that hard to get around the prurient arsehole peekers that populate the NSA and the kiwi puppets – John Key being a prime example. Encrypt, falsify your “metadata”, and send lots of crap purely so they have no idea what to look at. Hell – even the NZ Herald gets it these days as in an anonymously published article in the weekend rag…

The Guardian on Dotcom, GCSB, Key & US power

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, October 10th, 2013 - 21 comments

An article in today’s UK Guardian highlights the role of Key’s, US-supporting, government in the GCSB, Dotcom, surveillance saga (and TPP). It is chilling & shows why we need to continue to campaign against NZ’s surveillance state legislation and for TPPA transparency.

Rob Gilchrist on Sunday

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, October 6th, 2013 - 28 comments

The Sunday programme this evening has Rob Gilchrist, police spy and provocateur, breaking his silence about the decade he spent amongst mostly peaceful activists. He was one amongst the very many sworn officers and informants that the police, spy agencies, and their civilian detective agencies use to monitor and often to disrupt democratic change. At […]

Our boat is faster than theirs

Written By: - Date published: 2:32 pm, October 3rd, 2013 - 27 comments

In the wake of the astounding victory of the NZ team in San Diego, Scott at Imperator Fish offers these words of sage advice to those on the left looking at recent polling. For those of you convinced by the current winning trend, some of us hope that you will take his advice (so the rest of us can carry on with the work that needs to be done).

Vulnerable Children: The big picture

Written By: - Date published: 9:29 am, September 18th, 2013 - 43 comments

Yesterday Paula Bennett introduced the First Reading of the Vulnerable Children Bill.  Nat MPs separated child abuse from issues of poverty and income inequality.  Opposition MPs from Mana, Labour & The Greens called the Nats on it, arguing for the bigger picture.

Tales from the precariat: AAAP

Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, September 13th, 2013 - 71 comments

Auckland Action Against Poverty did 3 days of advocacy action in New Lynn.  Their press releases & videos show the struggles of low income Kiwis to survive in John Key’s corporate-loving NZ.  The tales tell of a need for real social security legislation & a more client-friendly WINZ.

New Lynn Impact against poverty – action

Written By: - Date published: 4:47 pm, September 9th, 2013 - 8 comments

Last December I reported on the Auckland Action Against Poverty, Advocacy Activism in Onehunga.  There’s another one happening this week in New Lynn – starts tomorrow at 9am outside the WINZ office. [Update:] Press release from AAAP. Tales of despair: from the streets of New Lynn.

It’s about jobs … and social security?

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, September 6th, 2013 - 168 comments

Cunliffe & Robertson stress the need to improve employment laws, jobs, wages, the economy, workers’ rights. Cunliffe invokes Savage-like social security & the need to end the Nats beneficiary bashing.  Wider community pressure is needed for there to be real political change away from the destructive neoliberal scam.

War on the poor: flexible super

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, August 27th, 2013 - 94 comments

Dunne’s proposal for flexible superannuation is a U-Turn for Key, while he hides behind it being a Dunne and flexible initiative & good for low income people.  Sue Bradford argues against Dunne’s initiative, saying it will benefit those on higher incomes.  She prefers better and universal benefits.

GCSB & TICS

Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, August 23rd, 2013 - 52 comments

There will be plenty of coverage of the Labour leadership process here on The Standard, I don’t feel any need to contribute. There are too many other important matters that mustn’t fall under the radar. You thought the GCSB spying Bill was bad? The TICS bill is worse.

Hypocrite

Written By: - Date published: 8:47 am, August 22nd, 2013 - 19 comments

“New Zealanders will not have
confidence in [a …] bill rammed through
by a slender majority without public support
and with the backing of only the bare minimum
of parties necessary to get it through Parliament.”
— John Key, 2007.
 
(ht Toby Manhire)

Shame!

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 pm, August 21st, 2013 - 136 comments

So the Key-Dunne spying Bill is now law. The privacy of your electronic communications now depends on the favour of an untrustworthy PM, and the best efforts of a legal system (much derided by said PM) in interpreting a confused mess of a law / Hansard record / letter to The Herald.

Shame shame shame on all those MPs who ignored the concerns of the people who elected them and passed this travesty.

If lawyers don’t understand the law…

Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, August 21st, 2013 - 32 comments

Then it’s a bad law. Who does John Key think is going to interpret the GCSB law other than lawyers from the Law Commission, the Human Rights Tribunal, the Privacy Commissioner etc?

Bad law making – GCSB Bill

Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, August 21st, 2013 - 29 comments

Grant Robertson & David Cunliffe explain how the GCSB Bill is bad law (especially section 8 & related sections). It doesn’t provide adequate oversight or safeguards against the wholesale spying on New Zealanders. A clarifying statement from the PM is not good law. Andrea Vance demystifies the Bill.

The innocent have nothing to fear?

Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, August 21st, 2013 - 18 comments

It’s not just journos who should watch out if the GCSB Bill goes through. David Miranda, partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, was detained by British police yesterday while in transit through London. All his electronic equipment was confiscated. After the nine hour limit was up this “terrorist” was released into Britain! All because his partner has been the journalist who wrote about Snowden’s revelations about internet surveillance by GCHQ, NSA, and GCSB.

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