activism
Categories under activism
- Spying (310)
GCSB, privacy & Facebook messaging
Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, August 15th, 2014 - 7 comments
How private are communications on social media platforms such as Facebook? It is claimed that the GCSB law’s definition of “privacy” leaves a loophole for warrantless surveillance of messaging by Kiwis on platforms like Facebook.
Polity: Dirty politics: My 2c
Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, August 14th, 2014 - 104 comments
The use of clandestine SIS files as a weapon of partisan politics is needs to be investigated. John Key or his office discovered classified SIS files that were embarrassing to Phil Goff, got them declassified, then immediately told a right-wing blogger to seek those same newly-declassified files under the OIA, all as a means of smearing a political opponent.
Bracing for the book
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, August 13th, 2014 - 104 comments
Nicky Hager has certainly got the attention of political circles in NZ, by announcing his (untitled) book launch today at 5.15pm. J[update: 3 news Livestream of book launch] Update: Title “Dirty Politics” – on attack politics – implicates John key & Slater]
Hager, fear & the surveillance state
Written By: - Date published: 12:55 pm, August 12th, 2014 - 82 comments
Nicky Hager’s latest book will be unveiled tomorrow. I look at his research interests, & his approach to investigative journalism; plus Hager’s speech on the GCSB Bill, & opposition party policies on state surveillance services.
Spread the word: enrol to vote
Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, August 4th, 2014 - 15 comments
Live News is reporting that 40,000 people have been removed from the electoral roll because they have moved address. Their enrolment update packs were returned to sender with the message: “gone no address”.
State of the left in Aotearoa/NZ
Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, July 26th, 2014 - 112 comments
Sue Bradford’s PhD thesis on the Left & Think Tanks, went online this week. It outlines the state of the Left in NZ. Bradford concludes that the Left is strong but fragmented, and identifies some ways forward.
Imperator Fish: Read the law
Written By: - Date published: 1:28 pm, July 18th, 2014 - 6 comments
Imperator Fish discovers that the official legal website for law in NZ has been hacked. The law that the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) used to look at complaints about the interception of communications for Kim DotCom, political parties, and anyone that the police deem as being suspicious was obviously incomplete. So the IPCA used some invisible law in their ruling. Who cares what the real law is anyway?
Tales from the left ground
Written By: - Date published: 6:34 pm, July 17th, 2014 - 26 comments
I was uplifted by seeing Team Carmel Sepuloni out campaigning in Henderson today. Marama Davidson has been out on the ground in Otara. The Internet-Mana Party have gone on a Road Trip. There’s been an on-going left campaign in Ohariu…. what are the tales from the left, campaigning on the ground?!
NRT: GCHQ’s bag of dirty tricks
Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, July 16th, 2014 - 11 comments
The UK intelligence agency GCHQ has developed sophisticated tools to manipulate online polls, spam targets with SMS messages, track people by impersonating spammers and monitor social media postings, according to newly-published documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
NRT: Dysfunctional
Written By: - Date published: 5:48 pm, July 2nd, 2014 - 6 comments
In short, a report on our intelligence services says that they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t know why they’re doing it, and they’re not doing it well. NZSIS can’t do its core job – security vetting – in a timely fashion, GCSB can’t even count, and they hate each other. Plus they’ve got poor financial management practices and no idea of how much stuff they own to boot. And then they wonder at the level of public hostility?
Pig Farming Expose – A personal perspective
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, June 30th, 2014 - 161 comments
Last night the Sunday show screened an expose of a Christchurch pig farm using footage provided by Farmwatch New Zealand. I was part of the investigation which resulted in this show and thought I would provide a more personal perspective on this story. I will also do my best to respond to comments on this […]
NRT: Evidence: The NSA is funding the GCSB
Written By: - Date published: 3:02 pm, June 26th, 2014 - 12 comments
Last week, The Intercept published details on the NSA’s programs with partners to tap international communications cables. Most of the article focused on a program which seems to involve Denmark and Germany, with each helping the NSA to spy on the other. But buried in one of the background documents – the US “black budget” for Foreign Partner Access Project – was this titbit. It turns out that second parties in the five eyes program like the GCSB are funded from the USA. So, “our” spies take foreign money to work for a foreign power.
The spirit of ’35
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, June 24th, 2014 - 50 comments
Jan Logie’s post: “Work and Income – stories from hidden people” is a must read: stories from a divisive society, under a callous government that benefits the few at the expense of too many. We can do much better than that. Vote for change this election!
John Key: a tale of two ‘truths’
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, June 23rd, 2014 - 34 comments
John Key claimed he didn’t know about the big shift in the US-NZ surveillance relationship in 2009. Now he claims he always likes to be fully briefed on intelligence matters. Robert David Steele points the way from such anti-democratic governance & misinformation, to an open source everything revolution.
Stand up – for an inclusive, caring & sharing NZ
Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, June 19th, 2014 - 57 comments
Stand up: fight back: We know what we are up against. We’ve seen the depth of the negative, right wing campaigning. NZ wants and needs better politics, and a more inclusive society.
Two worlds: banksters; NZ child poverty
Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, June 15th, 2014 - 253 comments
Al Jazeera outlines the dubious ethics of Goldman Sachs and the oligarchy it supports. They don’t give a shit about the lives they damage, or the resulting increases in inequality. The Nation interviews call for increasing public pressure on politicians to tackle NZ’s appalling child poverty.
Spy law changes & telcos exposé
Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, June 7th, 2014 - 13 comments
Vodafone has made public the extent of the use of spying via their systems, done by state agencies in several countries including NZ. NZ state agencies have revealed the amount of warrants issued prior to the passing of the GCSB and TICS laws late last year.
Digital speed cameras & mass surveillance
Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, June 6th, 2014 - 30 comments
The main NZ news outlets are reporting on the new digital speed cameras about to be progressively installed around the country. They fail to report on the potential of the cameras to be used for mass surveillance.
Spying on the left: 20th century “dirt files”
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 pm, June 1st, 2014 - 56 comments
Secret files have been released, that document the spying of Labour/left politicians in the early-to-mid 20th century: Savage, Fraser, Nash, Sutch, Sir Dove Meyer Robinson. The NZ establishment has a long history of treating the left as a threat. [Update: “Dunne over” by spy review]
Key-Fletcher nexus: anti-democratic ‘Intelligence communities’
Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, May 23rd, 2014 - 47 comments
Campbell Live pointed to a massive, integrated shift in NZ governance under John Key’s watch. This enhances the power of international trade and commerce, incorporating the GCSB the US, & 5 Eyes . At the centre of this shift, is the murky relationship between John Key & Ian Fletcher.
The smoke & mirrors of the surveillance-military-economic-complex
Written By: - Date published: 2:22 pm, May 21st, 2014 - 29 comments
There are a range of issues, which are part of a GCSB-intelligence-surveillance-military-complex. Some significant elements seem to be posing as diversions from other parts of the complex, and the way all parts hang together. What will he offer Obama to advance NZ’s position in the TPPA?
Campbell Live: Fletcher, Key, Clapper et al
Written By: - Date published: 7:23 pm, May 20th, 2014 - 208 comments
Campbell Live broadcast a special on the GCSB. It is presented information never before made public. Campbell pointed to how a major shift in NZ and 5 Eyes’ approach to intelligence. Whose interest is the GCSB operating in? Why has John Key mislead us, or at least, fudged the details? Updated.
“Banks vs Mud”
Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, May 19th, 2014 - 134 comments
John Banks murky past, including his metaphorical mud throwing at other politicians, came back to haunt him today: this as he headed into court to stand trial, accused of filing false electoral returns in an Auckland Mayoral campaign. Update: TVNZ report; Update #2: In court today
Marama Davidson: candidate for Tāmaki Makaurau
Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, May 17th, 2014 - 40 comments
Marama Davidson, is on the Green Party list & is a candidate for the Tāmaki Makaurau seat. Davidson is a really promising up-coming politician. She is committed to working for people, communities, the environment, democratic process, & strongly supports wahine, Māori & young people.
“Collect it all”, “exploit it all”: 5 Eyes economic surveillance
Written By: - Date published: 9:10 pm, May 15th, 2014 - 54 comments
Glenn Greenwald, interviewed on Democracy Now, outlines the extent of the NSA-led 5 Eyes surveillance systems. It is a leap from sci fi into our daily lives. Economic surveillance dominates. John Key & Ian Fletcher have some questions to answer – have they misled us? [Update: documents link]
Cunliffe interacts on Tuesday evening (rescheduled)
Written By: - Date published: 4:24 pm, May 12th, 2014 - 45 comments
Update: Rescheduled for Tuesday 5:30.
David Cunliffe will taking some time to write a post and engage on comments about it tomorrow evening. The topic will be about David’s “vision for New Zealand and how we get there”. The post may be up earlier, but the earliest that David will be able to respond will be about 5:30pm and then only for a limited period of time. The post’s comments will be fully moderated, so read the rules in this post about what is acceptable.
Late Mother’s Day Reflection
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, May 12th, 2014 - 26 comments
Behind the passive receiving of cards, chocolates and flowers.
Remembering forestry workers
Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, April 28th, 2014 - 15 comments
The deaths of forestry workers are outrageous & sad. Helen Kelly has campaigned extremely well for change. An international day of remembrance yesterday, a procession on parliament today – a belated govt Bill that is an improvement, but does not go far enough.
Coalition for Better Broadcasting launch
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, April 14th, 2014 - 29 comments
The Coailiton for Better Broadcasting and website has launched today. From the information on the website, it is looking like a very promising initiative to me.
From slum-house to mega-man: Mana-TIP connections
Written By: - Date published: 1:17 pm, April 12th, 2014 - 405 comments
There’s a lot of media attention on the negotiations between Mana & The Internet Party (TIP). Mana aims to link with some other parties. Some high profile people are scheduled to speak to Mana. Is Dotcom’s focus on his poor childhood genuine or a PR strategy? [Update#2: Sunday, NZ Herald – green light for negotiations]
September 18th
Written By: - Date published: 7:36 pm, April 8th, 2014 - 46 comments
The 18th of September 2014 is a big day.
On that day, people living in Scotland will decide if they want to become citizens in a nation that will have reclaimed its sovereignty.
- ‘The room was aching’: Survivors in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch gather for apology
Joel MacManus reports from parliament as the prime minister delivers the national apology for abuse in state care, while Lyric Waiwiri-Smith in Auckland and Alex Casey in Christchurch join survivors watching the livestream. As Andrew Bridgman, the acting chief executive of Oranga Tamariki, began the speeches at the national apology ...2 weeks ago - Hollow Apology Fails To Resonate With Survivors
Today, the Government had an historic and monumental opportunity to start righting decades of wrongs against survivors. Unfortunately, the Government has yet again let down survivors who placed their trust in it. ...2 weeks ago - TOAH-NNEST Rejects Choice Of Parliament For State Apology – True Reckoning Is Concrete Reform &...
The national network says the government should have chosen direct engagement at the flaxroots outlining concrete, meaningful actions for survivor restoration and systemic prevention to ensure this never happens again. ...2 weeks ago
- Home Education: The Baker whānau
Home Education follows the everyday lives of six families in Aotearoa educating their children at home. Today, education among whales and horses with the Baker whānau. The new docuseries Home Education is filmed across Aotearoa, in and around the homes of six families who have taken schooling outside ...2 weeks ago
- Great news: New Zealand’s favourite TV show about trucks driving very slowly is back
Tara Ward watches the return of Moving Houses. Seasons change, flowers bloom and bath water grows cold, but one thing never alters: the pulling power of a house on the back of a truck. Moving Houses returned to TVNZ for its third season on Sunday night, and with it a ...2 weeks ago
- The Baker whānau | Home Education | The Spinoff
“Family is always first” | Watch the full series: http://thespinoff.co.nz/videos/home-education 🐋 When a whale washed up on Tokomaru Bay, Israel and Petrina Baker decided it was important to take time out of school so that their tamariki could learn how to harvest the taonga. Truancy officers were not too pleased, ...2 weeks ago
- Review: Inside Mystery Festival, Auckland’s most secretive concert
Does a slightly dodgy gimmick make for a majorly shit music festival? As Lyric Waiwiri-Smith finds out, not necessarily. To have entered Auckland’s Mystery Festival on Saturday, you needed stamina, a fondness for drum and bass, break-neck-speed head bopping, a pair of jorts or those ruched Glassons short shorts and, ...2 weeks ago
- Takatāpui, Rainbow & MVPFAFF+ Survivors Lead Aotearoa’s Journey Toward Truth & Reconcilia...
The research from Takatāpui, Rainbow, and MVPFAFF+ survivors also highlights the urgent need to end State control over children’s care decisions, advocating instead for empowering whānau with the necessary support and resources to provide appropriate ...2 weeks ago
- The cost of being: A disabled beneficiary who often has to spend bus money on food
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a ‘skint’ 32-year-old on the supported living payment explains how she gets by. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Trans woman. Age: 32. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Long-term ...2 weeks ago
- Minister Using Extraordinary Power Shows Need For Fair Pay Offer At NZDF As Strike Continues
PSA members who are civilian workers escalated industrial action last week after NZDF refused to budge from a zero-pay rise offered during negotiations for a new collective agreement. ...2 weeks ago
- “The Beginning Of A New Chapter” – Care Experienced Rangatahi Hope Landmark Apology Will Signa...
VOYCE - Whakarongo Mai has been advocating for care experienced rangatahi since 2017, and CEO Tracie Shipton hopes the apology will mark the start of a new and better chapter for care in Aotearoa. ...2 weeks ago
- A national apology and what’s left unsaid
Government agency and political leaders will apologise today for decades of historic abuse in state care, writes Duncan Greive in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...2 weeks ago
- What is Cop29? A beginner’s guide to the big climate summit in Baku
Is the global conference more than just a gabfest, and what is it doing in Azerbaijan? What is Cop and why is it 29? Cop is the “conference of the parties” – that is, the 197 parties that have ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change born out ...2 weeks ago
- Hīkoi mō te Tiriti day one: ‘Lets make this hīkoi build a nation’
Since setting off Monday morning numbers have swelled from a couple hundred to well over 1000 people, demonstrating their opposition to the coalition government's controversial Treaty Principles Bill and other policies impacting Māori. ...2 weeks ago
- Open Letter Against Oceana Gold And Fast Track Expansion
“Oceana Gold have opted to use the Fast Track legislation to go ahead with the Waihi North gold mining project at Waihi and in the conservation forest at Wharekirauponga. ...2 weeks ago
- Khalistan ‘Referendum’ In Auckland Discussed At Top Diplomatic Levels
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed that S Jaishankar, India's minister of external affairs, raised the issue during the meeting but declined to provide details of the discussion. ...3 weeks ago
- Commission Calls For The Promise Of Te Tiriti O Waitangi To Be Honoured
The Commission’s Rongomau Taketake Indigenous Rights Governance Partner, Dayle Takitimu, said the Government had completely ignored the Waitangi Tribunal’s recommendations in its interim report Ngā Mātāpono, including for the Bill to be abandoned. ...3 weeks ago
- Interim Financial Statements Of The Government Of New Zealand For The Three Months Ended 30 Septembe...
The September results are reported against forecasts based on the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update 2024 (BEFU 2024), published on 30 May 2024, and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...3 weeks ago
- Commission Report Released On Domestic Contribution To The Second Nationally Determined Contribution
Minister of Climate Change Simon Watts today released the Commission’s report on the domestic emissions reductions that Aotearoa New Zealand could achieve as part of the country's second nationally determined contribution (NDC2). ...3 weeks ago
- Cleaners Left In Limbo After Contract Change At Auckland Transport Sites
After MMS lost its contract to provide cleaning services for Auckland Transport sites to City Cleaning, cleaners’ pay and conditions should have been transferred to the new contractor under Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act. ...3 weeks ago
- Social Housing Cutbacks Confirmed As Govt Axes Another 310 Kāinga Ora Workers
This makes a total of 551 roles lost since April 2024, or one in six workers across the country. A third of the workforce is in Auckland. ...3 weeks ago
- Have Your Say On The Oversight Of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill
The bill seeks to enhance oversight and monitoring of the Oranga Tamariki system by making structural changes to the Independent Children’s Monitor and the Children and Young People’s Commission. ...3 weeks ago
- Has Simon Watts Forgotten Who The Minister Is?
Does he not realise that he is the Minister in charge of the people who perpetrated this travesty? The people who have been affected need to see action, instead of the Minister’s ‘disappointment’. ...3 weeks ago
- More Than 18,400 Kiwis Call On Select Committee To Front Up On MPs’ Expenses
“Why should MPs not be held to the same standards as Ministers? If you’re spending taxpayers’ money, the public need to see the receipts” said James Ross, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the Taxpayers’ Union. ...3 weeks ago
- Introduction Of The Treaty Principles Bill
The existence and introduction of the Bill is extremely disappointing, has created angst amongst our people and further fuels the divisiveness created by Hon David Seymour and the Act Party. ...3 weeks ago
- Treaty Principles Bill Is Deliberately Divisive
...3 weeks ago
- Parihaka: Remembering A Legacy Of Peaceful Resistance
This small papakāinga, now a powerful symbol of passive resistance, was the site of Aotearoa's first recorded non-violent stand against colonial violence and land confiscation. ...3 weeks ago
- Cook Islands Leader Insists New Passports Won’t Affect Ties With New Zealand
The Cook Islands leader says new passport proposal will not impact ties with Aotearoa, but a New Zealand Foreign Affairs spokesperson says it "would have implications". ...3 weeks ago
- The Treaty Principles Bill Is Advanced Without Us And In Spite Of Us
“The Bill is an attack on our rangatiratanga and the move to bring it forward is yet another tactic to distract us from the real issues facing New Zealanders. This Bill is being advanced without us and in spite of us. ...3 weeks ago
- Unemployment Rising Shows The Need For A Plan
Wages are also reflecting the softer labour market, with 37% of all workers seeing no pay rise, and 50% of workers seeing an annual pay rise less than the 3.8% increase in household costs reported yesterday. With the minimum wage rising by less than ...3 weeks ago
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