activism

Categories under activism

Building constituencies

Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, September 24th, 2009 - 5 comments

On Tuesday, both Sue Kedgley and Sue Moroney tabled petitions in Parliament with over 15,000 signatures, on food standards in schools and pay equity respectively. That’s an incredible achievement. Most petitions get a few hundred, maybe a thousand signatures. Generally, not a lot of organising energy goes into getting signatures for them because, frankly, they […]

Yes, we’re screwed

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, September 23rd, 2009 - 10 comments

On Monday, New Yorkers discovered their free rightwing rag, the New York Post, had suddenly come over all green. The front-page was typical NYP: a headline screaming “we’re screwed”. The difference was that, in a reversal of the norm, the paper was fake but the facts were real. The Yes-Men had produced a 32-page newspaper on […]

SIS? Or who’s spying now?

Written By: - Date published: 12:54 pm, September 13th, 2009 - 27 comments

On Thursday Animal Rights Activists did a protest outside the Norwegian Embassy against the fur trade there. This was to support the campaign in Norway, where activists have just released an investigation into 50 fur farms. During the protest a man was observed sitting in a car across the road taking photographs of the protest […]

Firestarter

Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, September 10th, 2009 - 51 comments

r0b’s post on John Key’s ‘uprising’ comment (which was written last night) seems grimly ironic in light of this morning’s news. Someone has thrown some kind of incendiary device, like a molotov cocktail, through a window of Key’s electorate office. Obviously, such actions are to be condemned and it’s good to hear the damage is limited. […]

Tim O’Reilly on “Gov 2.0”

Written By: - Date published: 4:52 pm, September 7th, 2009 - 26 comments

Five years ago Tim O’Reilly coined the phrase “Web 2.0”. Now, in this post at TechCrunch, he argues it’s time for “Gov 2.0”. Gov 2.0 is about more than politicians using Facebook or Twitter or whatever, more than increased transparency, more than the government moving into the ‘cloud’. Too often, we think of government as […]

10:10

Written By: - Date published: 8:25 am, September 4th, 2009 - 14 comments

The scientists say we need to reduce our greenhouse emissions by 40% by 2020 and 80% by 2050 if we want to even have a 50:50 chance of not starting runaway climate change (where temperature rises trigger the release of frozen methane and other effects that will rapidly heat the world to disastrous levels). So, […]

Labour finally on board?

Written By: - Date published: 10:36 pm, August 27th, 2009 - 20 comments

I was shocked but not surprised to hear that National are considering opening our National Parks up for mining. At the same time, I can’t help but feel an unfortunate sense of deja vu. Labour’s Conservation spokesperson David Parker is quoted by 3News today as saying: We were certainly not told this before the election […]

Our Political Blogosphere

Written By: - Date published: 3:45 pm, August 25th, 2009 - 11 comments

Denis Welch educating the broader public about the New Zealand political blogosphere on RNZ’s 9 to Noon today with Lynn Freeman. A pretty fair synopsis and well worth a quick listen. (9:19 mins total)

A really crappy day

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 am, August 18th, 2009 - 37 comments

I hadn’t been to a protest in months. After everything I’ve been through, activist stuff tends to make me more than a little angry, which is part of the reason I’ve kept away from the front line for a while. Of course, being as assertive as I am, whenever there is trouble, it seems to […]

Still lying, Still spying

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, August 17th, 2009 - 25 comments

A media release yesterday from the Justice NOW collective! shows how both police and corporate spies are still taking a major interest in the activities of small peaceful protest groups. From the media release: The anti-terror police are still spying on legitimate political protest, and they are still lying to the public about what they […]

Wellington fundraisers

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, August 12th, 2009 - 5 comments

Two cool fundraisers coming up for the Greens and Labour. The Greens are holding a screening of Kiwi ‘s The Age of Stupid, a movie set in 2055 looking back at today and asking the painful, obvious question – ‘if we could see all these problems of resource exhaustion, pollution, cliamte change, and over-population coming, […]

Save the climate, raise our albedo

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, August 10th, 2009 - 18 comments

Dark material gets warmer in sunlight than light-coloured or white material. Heat energy enters our atmosphere after light strikes the surface of the Earth, is partially converted into heat, which then radiates into the air. White stuff reflects the sun’s energy straight back into space without converting as much of it into heat. Because of this, […]

Stand up for free speech, stand against Bully State

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, August 7th, 2009 - 21 comments

As you know, when Natasha Fuller and Jennifer Johnston spoke up against the Key government’s cancelling of the Training Incentive Allowance, Paula Bennett tried to silence them by releasing their private information to the media. That was a flagrant breach of her fiduciary duties as minister and the Privacy Act, and a threat to free […]

DL Dannevirke (I kid you not)

Written By: - Date published: 2:32 pm, August 5th, 2009 - 7 comments

The Drinking Liberally empire keeps on growing. Tomorrow there’s an event in Wellington, and Dannevirke, the newest chapter, has its first event on Saturday. I’m not sure if the people in Dannevirke have hooked into the DL Facebook organisation but it’s great they’ve got it started. They’ll have Rick Barker, Labour’s buddy MP for Wairarapa […]

Citizen journalism

Written By: - Date published: 5:05 pm, August 3rd, 2009 - 5 comments

Evidently just as fed up as I am with main-stream-media “news” – which increasingly seems to consist of shallow, sensationalist stories broken up by the song and dance of weather reports* – a group of rape crisis campainers decided to conduct an impromtu press conference with London Mayor, Boris Johnston. They reckon he’d reneged on […]

Left needs to unite in Supercity race

Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, July 24th, 2009 - 56 comments

A UMR poll out yesterday suggests that Len Brown, currently mayor of Manukau, would be the Left candidate with the best chance of winning the mayoralty of the Auckland Supercity next year. The poll has Brown on 35% ahead of John Banks on 34% – but with margin of error, all that can be said is […]

DL Wgtn this Thursday

Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, July 21st, 2009 - 2 comments

Short notice, but just got this in from the Drinking Liberally Wellington crew: This week Drinking Liberally is hosting Geoff Keey from Greenpeace. Geoff has been attending the recent climate change negotiations in Bonn and will reflect upon them, and Greenpeace’s “Sign On” campaign. The Sign On campaign is to advocate for for a commitment […]

OpenLeft

Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, July 21st, 2009 - 18 comments

Launched last weekend in the UK: OpenLeft. Open Left is about rediscovering the Left’s idealism, pluralism and appetite for radical ideas. It starts from a belief that the future of the Left requires a new openness for a new era of open politics: Idealism: open about its political values and goals. Pluralism: open about disagreement […]

YL video: Join the opposition

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, July 14th, 2009 - 18 comments

Not to be outshone by their leader’s latest efforts, looks like Young Labour have been busy with a little video project of their own. Nice. (Hat-tip: Red Alert)

So whatcha gonna to do about it then?

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, July 2nd, 2009 - 40 comments

I reckon there’s a mood developing. People are getting sick and tired of what feels like a government that’s got the country in reverse. But what they’re looking for is an alternative. Increasingly people are starting to ask of the opposition “So what are you going to do differently?” They’ve asked it in relation to sow […]

Lost in translation

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, July 2nd, 2009 - 8 comments

Dear Labour I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes my attention span isn’t the greatest. Between Twitter and Facebook and texting it’s frankly a wonder I have time for much of anything else. I’m mostly in a hurry and I think that’s probably part of the reason I often don’t know what you’re trying […]

Nats attack workers’ right to protest

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, July 1st, 2009 - 55 comments

I am outraged to learn that the Department of Labour told its employees they were not allowed attend the pay equity rally at Parliament yesterday. A leaked email from the department to its staff said: “Attendance at such a demonstration may well be perceived as crossing the line by criticising a decision of the Government. […]

Pay equity protest TODAY

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, June 30th, 2009 - Comments Off on Pay equity protest TODAY

It’s pissing down with rain here in Wellington but the pay equity protest is going ahead. Grab your workmates and head down to Parliament at lunch to tell the government to reverse their cuts and start taking pay equity seriously. What: Pay equity protest Where: Parliament When: 12.30 today More info at www.union.org.nz/payequity

Reminder

Written By: - Date published: 4:57 pm, June 25th, 2009 - Comments Off on Reminder

No Right Turn reminds us that submissions on the government’s election funding issues paper are due in tomorrow. It doesn’t have to go into huge detail, a few key points will probably do the trick. If you want some pointers on what to say Rob Salmond has some suggestions here, and you can download his […]

Roger Award nominations open

Written By: - Date published: 4:30 pm, June 25th, 2009 - 27 comments

Nominations are now open for the 2009 Roger Award for the Worst Transnational Corporation Operating in Aotearoa/New Zealand, which is organised the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa and GATT Watchdog. You can download the nomination form (in either Word or PDF) here. The criteria for judging are by assessing the transnational (a corporation which […]

Electoral finance part deux: have your say!

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, June 23rd, 2009 - 8 comments

Guest post by Rob Salmond It is almost time for you to send your submissions on the government’s issues document on electoral finance. Submissions are due on 26 June, here’s where you can email the submissions. This is the only time we all get to throw around options before the government comes out with its […]

Protest for pay equity

Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, June 22nd, 2009 - 47 comments

Earlier this year the National/ACT government announced it would be closing the Department of Labour’s Pay and Employment Equity Unit, which was set up by the previous government to address the 12% pay gap experienced by women workers. The excuse given by State Services Minister Tony Ryall was that ending discrimination and paying women what […]

350.org

Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, June 18th, 2009 - 1 comment

This is the latest YouTube clip from 350.org, the international movement planning a worldwide day of protest on October 24 to demand our political leaders negotiate a fair and effective global climate treaty. There are a few events listed in New Zealand but it doesn’t look like anything major has been planned at this stage. […]

Marxism, whoo!

Written By: - Date published: 2:03 pm, June 11th, 2009 - 11 comments

All going according to plan, I’ll be there. Hungover in the back row.

Fight for Auckland’s local democracy

Written By: - Date published: 1:32 pm, June 9th, 2009 - 2 comments

Red Alert, the Labour MPs’ blog, has a list of upcoming meetings on the supercity. Mt Albert – 5.30pm Tuesday 9 June, Owairaka District Primary School, 113 Richardson Rd, Owairaka, hosted by Phil Goff and David Shearer Waitakere – 7.30pm, Wednesday 10 June, Kelston Community Centre, Cnr Great North Road and Awaroa Rd, hosted by […]

I wish to complain…

Written By: - Date published: 10:42 pm, June 3rd, 2009 - 31 comments

It turns out that Phil Goff was aware of an allegation about Richard Worth weeks ago that may relate to the current investigation. Labour leader Phil Goff took an allegation of Richard Worth’s inappropriate behaviour towards a woman to Prime Minister John Key about a month ago, it emerged tonight. This was apparently not the […]

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