political alternatives
Categories under political alternatives
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- vision (67)
Building a mass movement
Written By: - Date published: 3:13 pm, January 19th, 2016 - 61 comments
Republished by request, and permission from Stephanie Rodgers at Boots Theory
[Content note: mentions of transphobia, sexual violence and violence against people of colour]
Hard Numbers to Remember.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, December 8th, 2015 - 32 comments
This post is essentially a distillation of two presentations given by Kevin Anderson at the Earth 101 gathering in Iceland earlier this year. You can view them here and here I highly recommend that you do as they are packed with high quality, no nonsense information. For those who don’t know, Kevin Anderson was the director of the Tyndall Centre, the UK’s leading academic climate change research organization and is a professor of energy and climate change in the School of Mechanical, Aeronautical and Civil Engineering at the University of Manchester.
ABP Branch of Labour goes into recess; all Branch Officers to resign
Written By: - Date published: 7:39 pm, November 22nd, 2015 - 427 comments
Dunedin’s most active and most innovative Labour Party branch is going into recess.
Chris Trotter is on fire
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, November 19th, 2015 - 160 comments
“What differentiates the Left from the Right is the former’s fundamental rejection of the strongest human-beings’ proclivity to dominate, coerce and exploit the weakest. Without this proclivity, none of the economic and social systems elaborated by armed minorities throughout history could have endured.”
Indeed.
There is Hope.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, November 10th, 2015 - 65 comments
Anarchism, past and present.
Portugal
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, October 27th, 2015 - 38 comments
This is going to end well…
From out of the Shadows
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, September 28th, 2015 - 20 comments
Goff has attempted to throw a fire-cracker into the notion of the National Party leadership and caucus being one big happy family. Is this the Labour Party’s way of sowing seeds of discontent without tainting the image of their leader? It is NOT Dirty Politics by any normal understanding of that term as captured in the book of the same name. Is this Goff’s role now? To box from the shadows?
Earth overshoot day
Written By: - Date published: 11:20 am, August 17th, 2015 - 22 comments
August 13th was Earth Overshoot Day. We have already consumed what the Earth can sustainably produce in a year, for the rest of this year we are consuming “ecological capital”. This can’t go on. But it is a problem that our current political and economic systems cannot solve.
Amazing Grace
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, June 27th, 2015 - 99 comments
Barack Obama sings the spiritual Amazing Grace during the eulogy for Clementa Pinckney, one of those killed by a racist gunman in Charleston. Not completely in tune, but he hits the right note. As his Presidency winds down, Obama has one last opportunity to move the American mindset. The rule of the gun must end.
An open letter to Andrew Little
Written By: - Date published: 6:08 pm, June 26th, 2015 - 433 comments
A respectful open letter to Andrew Little with suggestions for how to win the next election!
The Best of British; The NHS, the Welfare State and David Bowie
Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, June 21st, 2015 - 24 comments
Massive anti-austerity marches have just ended all over Britain. Tens of thousands of protesters have turned out to let the Tory government know that the fight against the right has not ended with the general election. Welsh singer Charlotte Church told the crowd in London that she is proudly British, but for all the right reasons.
Dear NZ Labour. Listen up.
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 12th, 2015 - 48 comments
For the sake of reference – Nye Bevan was a Labour mp and the architect of the British NHS. Michael Sheen’s speech was a defense of that institution, but the underpinning message is, well…
Heroes and Villains
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, March 15th, 2015 - 9 comments
Thinking authorities in the west have yet discover the difference between their arse and their elbow…
The Second Climate Change Problem
Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, March 12th, 2015 - 23 comments
Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we’re educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence
A Bright Spark Burning…
Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, March 11th, 2015 - 40 comments
A further piece on the peoples’ revolution within Northern Syria.
Stand by Your Man
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, February 19th, 2015 - 107 comments
Sometime in the next few days, Winston Peters will announce whether or not he will stand in the Northland by-election. He should run unchallenged by the left and Labour and the Greens should endorse him for the greater good.
Revolutionary Spain, Revolutionary Syria, and the Bastards We Vote For.
Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, February 11th, 2015 - 63 comments
It seems that just as the 30’s offered the chance to turn dreams into reality, Syria is offering that chance up to ‘the left’ today. Suddenly, for me, the recent travel bans and the passport confiscation laws etc make sense since we are potentially looking at an international influx of non-nutters and non- psychopaths as happened during the Spanish Revolution of the 30s.
The Enduring Legacy of Neo-Liberalism – Sir Edmund Thomas
Written By: - Date published: 4:25 pm, February 10th, 2015 - 6 comments
Sir Edmund Thomas will discuss this topic in Wellington at Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace, tomorrow Wednesday 11th at 5:30pm. All welcome – see synopsis – if you would like to come please register here.
Where have all the houses gone?
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, January 20th, 2015 - 131 comments
Yesterday it was announced that Auckland is the ninth least affordable city in the world requiring 8.3 times their average wage to buy a home. Reducing regulation hasn’t worked, otherwise more than 20 homes would have been built under the 2013 fast track accord. The problem is a shortage of affordable housing.
Gough 1916-2014
Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, October 21st, 2014 - 46 comments
When Gough Whitlam was PM of Austrialia, it was a time when people were looking forward to a more inclusive, caring, and egalitarian society: a time of hope. His PM-ship ended in controversy.
National’s promises to you. #1.
Written By: - Date published: 1:57 pm, September 22nd, 2014 - 31 comments
Nationals promises to you. #1.
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.
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.
Positive Things
Written By: - Date published: 2:27 pm, February 16th, 2014 - 21 comments
Change becomes embedded when it emanates from and across many quarters and traditions.
Polity: Kim Dotcom’s 5% gambit
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, February 12th, 2014 - 92 comments
Rob Salmond looks at the implications of the Internet party failing to poll 5% and DotCom throws his support behind another party. A bidding war from competing parties? For the left this would be being both hypocritical and a bit icky. One of the reasons they worked hard to make election funding fairer in the late 2000s was to limit the ability of individuals seeking to buy government policy for cash. The right disagreed but is now caught by their own logic that it couldn’t happen.
Role of Government
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, February 11th, 2014 - 46 comments
Governments are holding on to their traditional roles and functions, but the world has changed. We need something else.
Opposing the PM’s statement
Written By: - Date published: 8:49 pm, January 28th, 2014 - 18 comments
The PMs’ statement todaywas a bit of a fizzer: lacking ideas, a lot of waffle. Some opposition speeches were more inspiring, & laid out some real alternatives: like the speeches from Cunliffe (on fire), Norman (inspiring), Ardern (animated) & Harawira (real people; real struggles).
‘Reclaiming Our Children’s Birthright’- Metiria’s speech
Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, January 27th, 2014 - 53 comments
Metiria Turei delivered a very strong, inspiring, and well-targeted speech yesterday. She reclaimed fractured values of inclusive, collaborative communities. She framed inequality as the issue for the coming election; the Greens’ education hub policy central. Labour, NZEI responded favourably.
Down among the women: limits of ‘growth’
Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, January 14th, 2014 - 97 comments
The GDP measure fails to account for life sustaining activities outside paid employment. Women do the majority of such unpaid work. A gender blind approach to financial crises is socially and economically destructive. An alternative, cooperative social and economic model would attend to gender and other diversities.
UBI
Written By: - Date published: 8:47 pm, January 7th, 2014 - 361 comments
New Zealand was once considered one of the best places on earth to live. It could be again …
The Left Ulterior and other tendencies
Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, January 2nd, 2014 - 89 comments
Readers of this site are probably aware that I like reading science fiction. They’d also be aware that we run this site targeted at the general left labour movement of New Zealand. Of course many other people confuse this with the Labour party. In truth it can be distinguished as being more like the late great Iain M Bank’s view of his fictional Culture which he divided up into various Mind/ship behavioural segments. It kind of fits…
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- No More Complicity! Aotearoa National Rally For Palestine
For over a year, thousands of New Zealanders have joined the millions across the world in taking to the streets to call for an end to the genocide in Gaza. ...2 days ago - From bean-counters to cyber-sleuths: how accountants are a frontline defence against online crime
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zhongtian Li, Senior Lecturer, Business School, University of Newcastle Once considered to be simply “bean counters”, accountants now play an important role in the defence, investigation and protection against cybercrime. Modern cybercrime includes stealing personal information, hacking into systems, spreading viruses ...2 days ago - ‘Save our Mill’ meeting offers glimmer of hope
Green MP Tamatha Paul says there's a feeling of determination in Tokoroa after last night's 'Save our Mill' meeting. ...2 days ago - Fluoride in drinking water is in the spotlight again. Let’s not forget how it transformed our oral...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Oliver A.H. Jones, Professor of Chemistry, RMIT University A3pfamily/Shutterstock Fluoride is back in the news, after incoming US “health czar” Robert F. Kennedy Jr called for its removal from drinking water. At the same time, the Australian Medical Association (Queensland) ...2 days ago
- Multiple MPs referred to privileges committee for Treaty Principles Bill reading haka
MPs from Te Pāti Māori and Labour have been referred by the speaker for their "disorderly and disruptive" haka ...2 days ago
- Treaty Principles Bill: MPs including Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke referred to privileges committee ove...
MPs from Te Pāti Māori and Labour have been referred by the speaker for their "disorderly and disruptive" haka ...2 days ago
- PSA Demand End To Sexist Pay Discrimination
"Thousands more women employed or funded by government are moving through the pay equity process to address the undervaluation of their work," Davies said. ...2 days ago
- Stand Tū Māia Sues Children’s Ministry For Breach Of Contract
Chief Executive Dr Fiona Inkpen said the Trust had been forced to bring court action to hold the Children’s Ministry to its contractual obligations and prevent the Ministry from acting as though the contract has been cancelled. ...2 days ago
- The Spinoff’s best NZ books of 2024
The best local books published this year, as selected by books editor Claire Mabey and a panel of experts. Welcome to the first of four best-of-books lists for 2024. These are the New Zealand books, for both children and adults, published in 2024, that stuck with our panel of writers, ...2 days ago - Watch: Greyhound racing to be banned in New Zealand, Winston Peters announces
Advocates says it's the "end of an era of exploitation" as Winston Peters announces the closure of the industry over "unacceptably high" injury rates. ...2 days ago
- Chris Hipkins doubles down claim Lester Levy is ‘cooking the books’
Verrall's comments were made under Parliamentary privilege, and she has not been prepared to repeat those claims since. ...2 days ago
- PSA Calls On Minister To Reverse Cold-hearted Cuts To Children’s Charity Funding
Children’s charity Stand Tū Māia is today taking urgent legal action against Oranga Tamariki for unilaterally reneging on a three-year $21 million contract after only six months. ...2 days ago
- RSF condemns assassination of Cambodian environmental journalist
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders has condemned the assassination of Cambodian investigative environmental journalist Chhoeung Chheng who has died from his wounds. He was shot by an illegal logger last week while investigating unlawful deforestation in the country’s northwest. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ...2 days ago
- It’s not ‘locked and loaded’, but longer boot camps on the cards
The coalition is considering extending the time some teenagers spend in boot camp residential facilities if it's likely they'll reoffend when sent back into the community. ...2 days ago
- The social media games: why sports teams and leagues aren’t just competing on the field
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer in Marketing, Research School of Management, Australian National University vectorfusionart/Shutterstock Not so long ago, sports and entertainment were separate: each had their own distinct place in our minds. In the streaming era, that has become somewhat ...2 days ago
- Keith Rankin Essay – Al Aqsa provocation and the media game ‘Israel says’
Essay by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. A few days ago I watched a recording from Al Jazeera of Earthrise Systems Change. The news banner at the bottom of the screen told ...2 days ago
- Watch live: Greyhound racing to be banned in New Zealand, Winston Peters announces
"While fewer dogs are dying, injury rates, while down slightly, have plateaued and remain unacceptably high," Winston Peters has announced. ...2 days ago
- Around 9,000 species have already gone extinct in Australia and we’ll likely lose another this wee...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Woinarski, Professor of Conservation Biology, Charles Darwin University An undescribed ant species in the genus _Opisthopsis_. It’s found only in Kakadu, Northern Territory. Francois Brassard, Charles Darwin University More than 95% of Australian animals are invertebrates (animals without backbones – spiders, ...2 days ago
- Review: Ram Raid Mums provides a blueprint for breaking the cycle
With youth crime dominating headlines and the government doubling down on punitive measures, Ram Raid Mums offers a powerful, humanising alternative. Liam Rātana reviews. It’s easy to say that all criminals should be locked up. That we should throw the book at people who break the law in an attempt ...2 days ago
- Syria crisis: Fijian peacekeepers ‘secure and accounted for’ amid tensions
RNZ Pacific Fijian peacekeepers in the Middle East “are secure and accounted for,” the country’s Defence and Veteran Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua confirmed today. Tikoduadua said Fiji had troops deployed in the Golan Heights under the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) and the UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNSTO). He said ...2 days ago
- Tonga’s Speaker confirms new PM to be chosen on Christmas Eve
RNZ Pacific Parliamentarians in Tonga will meet on Christmas Eve to select the kingdom’s new prime minister, Speaker of the House Lord Fakafanua has confirmed. He told RNZ Pacific that Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni’s resignation on Monday ahead of a second motion of no confidence was unprecedented. However, he said the ...2 days ago
- A close reading of the United Healthcare CEO suspect Luigi Mangione’s Goodreads account
Last week, the CEO of United Healthcare was shot and killed in New York. Today, we assess the suspect’s reading habits. Disclaimer: There is a slight possibility that someone with the same name and same face also has a Goodreads account and an interest in environmentalism and the healthcare industry. ...2 days ago
- The small town cinemas holding on at the edge of the world
Alex Casey talks to the owners of some of the country’s smallest cinemas about how they’re surviving – and even thriving – in 2024. To sit in the foyer of Ethel’s Cinema in Akaroa is to feel smack bang in the epicentre of the 600-strong Banks Peninsula community. The coffee ...2 days ago
- Sex education curriculum to be reviewed after critical report
Education Minister Erica Stanford said it was clear the status quo was not working and teachers needed more certainty. ...2 days ago
- Ferry replacement to cost less than Labour’s iRex – Christopher Luxon
The announcement is expected on Wednesday. ...2 days ago
- Ravaged jungle: just 25% of the world’s surviving tropical rainforests are in good condition
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rajeev Pillay, Postdoctoral Fellow in Ecology, University of Northern British Columbia We are now in the middle of the sixth mass extinction, caused by our emergence as a planet-shaping force. Species are going extinct far faster than the average natural rate of ...2 days ago
- Ferry replacement project to cost less than Labour’s iRex – Luxon
The announcement is expected on Wednesday. ...2 days ago
- Rupert Murdoch fails in bid to change family trust, New York Times reports
Murdoch's bid to consolidate control of his media empire in the hands of his son Lachlan has failed, the New York Times reports. ...2 days ago
- The cost of being: A thrifty baking apprentice who’s saving up to travel
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 21-year-old explains why she’s always on the hunt for a bargain. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 21. Ethnicity: NZ European. Role: Second-year baking ...2 days ago
- School sex education plans derailed by misinformation, bigotry and threats of violence – repor...
Schools should not be required to consult parents about the content of sexuality lessons, an ERO report says ...2 days ago
- The human right to science is 76 years old. It’s a reminder for us all to be more curious
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sujatha Raman, Professor and UNESCO Chair-holder, Australian National University chingyunsong/shutterstock Signed exactly 76 years ago today, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the world’s most translated document. It is widely acknowledged as the foundation of international human rights work, not ...2 days ago
- Does menopause hormone therapy increase or decrease your risk of dementia? Here’s the science
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caroline Gurvich, Associate Professor and Clinical Neuropsychologist, Monash University Felicity Tai/Pexels By 2050, around 135 million people worldwide will be living with dementia. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Women are more likely than men to develop Alzheimer’s ...2 days ago
- ‘Unseen world’: researchers capture fascinating footage of the world’s smallest penguins in a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Diane Colombelli-Négrel, Senior Lecturer, Animal Behaviour, Flinders University On Granite Island off South Australia, a colony of little penguins is fighting to survive. About two decades ago, the penguins numbered 1,600 adults – now there are just 30. It is important ...2 days ago
- Australians’ cars are typically larger, heavier and less efficient than in Europe – here’s why
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robin Smit, Adjunct Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney Road transport is responsible for a substantial share of global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. So reducing these emissions is a high priority. In the European Union (EU), CO₂ ...2 days ago
- Live: Willis and Luxon talk tough on banking sector
The government is promising a swathe of changes to bolster KiwiBank, and bring about more competition in the banking sector. ...2 days ago
- Health NZ’s plan to stop or defer 136 IT projects
More than jobs are being cut by Health New Zealand's big data and digital cull, with the axing of more than 100 IT projects. ...2 days ago
- How much do you need to retire? It’s probably a lot less than you think
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Economic Policy, Grattan Institute Iryna Inshyna/Shutterstock How much do you need to save for a comfortable retirement? It’s a big question, and you’ll often hear dire warnings you don’t have enough. But for most Australians, it’s ...2 days ago
- Why a musical instrument is the perfect gift this Christmas (and some suggestions for which to get)
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wendy Hargreaves, Senior Learning Advisor, University of Southern Queensland Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock Christmas is the season to be jolly, but it’s wrapped in some cheerless trials. There’s car park mania, pre-dawn pilgrimages to purchase seafood, and the ever-perplexing question, “What should I buy ...2 days ago
- Explosive LNG Report Casts More Doubt On Govt’s Plan To Build Fossil Gas Import Terminal
The ‘ Explosive Truths’ report commissioned by Greenpeace delves into the history of LNG accidents, highlighting a lack of transparency, underestimated risks to human safety, and failing safety protocols. ...2 days ago
- Kim Hill Wants To Know: ‘Are you always late?’ – Hill meets Boris Johnson
An abrupt introduction set the tone as RNZ's Kim Hill sat down for a long chat with the former British Prime Minister, to ask if he's trying to "salvage" his career. ...2 days ago
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