Social issues

Categories under Social issues

The strange case of the missing Oregon Republican State senators

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, June 24th, 2019 - 67 comments

Republican State Senators in the state of Oregon have headed for the hills and are being protected by a local nut job militia in an effort to thwart the democratically elected majority from doing passing a law to address climate change.

Right wing loses it after Prime Minister makes a cake

Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, June 23rd, 2019 - 57 comments

In a week where Donald Trump almost starts war against Iran, gets accused again of sexual assault, and has his ICE staff deny toothpaste, soap and blankets to kids in detention and Boris Johnson gets accused of domestic violence the local right loose it when Jacinda Ardern makes a cake.

Results matter

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, June 21st, 2019 - 29 comments

Everyone knows that getting employers to increase rates of pay and improve conditions of work takes real pressure and the only real way working people can exert pressure, in the unbalanced relationship that exists between individual employees and employers, is by acting together; collectively. And that’s what we’ve been doing week in, week out and getting real results.

National is really worried that people may vote

Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, June 21st, 2019 - 95 comments

Nick Smith has complained that making it easier for people to vote by allowing them to enrol on election day will disadvantage the National Party.

Facebook is planning crypto currency service – what could possibly go wrong?

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, June 19th, 2019 - 15 comments

The corporation that has become renowned as the purveyor of fake news and the underminer of elections is planning to roll out a crypto currency service.

What have Unions ever done for freeloaders?

Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, June 16th, 2019 - 198 comments

Two teachers who support individual contracts and performance pay are upset that they are not going to immediately get the benefit the Teachers Unions negotiated for their members.

The Hong Kong protest worked

Written By: - Date published: 8:22 am, June 16th, 2019 - 20 comments

Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, has permanently suspended the legislative proposal to enable extradition of Hong Kong people to among other places mainland China.

The freedom to insult

Written By: - Date published: 5:37 pm, June 15th, 2019 - 149 comments

David Seymour is proposing a law change that would protect neo nazis from the effects of their hate speech unless the speech also incited or threatened violence.

Mark Richardson wants to be a Nat MP

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, June 14th, 2019 - 102 comments

Mark Richardson thinks he may have a future career and will be able to transform from overpaid TV personality to overpaid public representative.

Three disturbingly different views on climate change

Written By: - Date published: 2:10 pm, June 10th, 2019 - 63 comments

In the same week that Donald Trump said that the American climate was the cleanest climate, Ian Dunlop, former chairman of the Australian Coal Association, has warned of massive social consequences ranging from increased religious fervour to outright chaos. And UK Chancellor Philip Hammond is questioning if remedial action is affordable.

Deranged Jacinda syndrome

Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, June 10th, 2019 - 105 comments

Mike Hosking has chosen to criticise Jacinda Ardern for touring the country and speaking to communities about the Wellbeing budget rather than flying across the world to take part in a photo opportunity.

Government under FiveEyes

Written By: - Date published: 9:48 pm, June 7th, 2019 - 11 comments

Australian Federal Police chief Neil Gaughan told media after raiding the ABC that “if police did not investigate the leaking of classified information, Australia would no longer be entrusted by FiveEyes partners with intelligence that saves lives.” FiveEyes didn’t save Muslim lives in Christchurch.

 

The Teachers’ strike

Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, June 6th, 2019 - 77 comments

Teaching is approaching a crisis point.  Sure it has taken 9 years of the last Government’s rule to wreck the system. But this Government is expected to repair quickly the damage that the last Government caused.  

Beltway news

Written By: - Date published: 2:37 pm, June 5th, 2019 - 121 comments

Simon Bridges has accused Labour of engaging in dirty politics and considered that he was acting appropriately in releasing budget information early, contrary to standards that his Government implemented in 2014.

The Coming Global Economic Slowdown and New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, June 3rd, 2019 - 49 comments

With the United States – China trade war well underway, the sick chaos of Brexit is shrinking the U.K. economy and slowing much of Europe’s economy, and smaller economies such as that of Mexico in the crosshairs through further politically manufactured trade disputes, the second half of this year looks for New Zealand nowhere near as rosy as the first half.

Beware of Truth Sayers

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 2nd, 2019 - 21 comments

We don’t all have to know all the facts and admitting ignorance is no shame but a virtue.

Bene bashing

Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, June 1st, 2019 - 101 comments

National has engaged in the most crass form of beneficiary bashing in opposing Government changes to the benefit system announced in the budget and passed under urgency.

Budget commentary

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, May 31st, 2019 - 65 comments

Has New Zealand’s social media spent too much time on gocha politics and not enough on the substance of the wellbeing budget?

Same old dirty National

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 30th, 2019 - 179 comments

National is still embedded in Dirty Politics.

Whale Oil – the book

Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, May 29th, 2019 - 15 comments

Whale Oil by Margie Thomson is about the Blomfield vs Slater case. Lost by Cameron Slater because after 7 years of trying to delay it, he was unable to mount a credible defense before a judge. But there is a lot of detail behind that that is worrying in an internet age..

Simon Bridges – criminal receiver

Written By: - Date published: 11:48 pm, May 28th, 2019 - 216 comments

You have to wonder about what kind of law Simon Bridges, a former criminal prosecutor, actually practiced. Because given the events of today – it seems questionable if he understands the legal basis of our criminal laws about computers. Do we really want someone so incompetent at his chosen profession before entering politics (or have a criminal receiver of stolen goods) to run this country? 

 

Bridges’ dodgy crime statistics

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, May 27th, 2019 - 26 comments

Simon Bridges is trumpeting some figures he has received from the Government as evidence that crime rates are increasing.  But there is a slight problem.  Police figures show that the number of reported offences is decreasing.

Religion and the threshold

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, May 24th, 2019 - 59 comments

It has been pretty boring watching the coverage of religious conservatives trying to present a meaningful political presence for the next election. Haven’t the NZ Herald’s puff piece journalists ever read about the history of religious parties in this “no religion” state? They’re fractional parties incapable of getting to 5% without assistance, and they don’t grow the vote for the right.

Run Brian Run

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 23rd, 2019 - 103 comments

Brian Tamaki, recent victim of self/God?-inflicted burns. Don't be like Brian.

Brian Tamaki is set to announce the launch of a new political party today.

Billionaire pledges to pay off class of 2019’s student loans

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, May 21st, 2019 - 50 comments

Billionaire investor Robert F. Smith was invited to give the graduation speech at Morehouse College, his old school, and stunned everyone when he deviated from prepared speech notes.

Will the Christian Conservatives rise again?

Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, May 20th, 2019 - 78 comments

Simon Bridges has conceded that his claim that talk about Alfred Ngaro setting up a conservative party was “rumour and speculation” was not actually true.  And Ngaro has gone on the offensive describing abortion as an unholy holocaust.

Hate Speech Is an Evitable Evil

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 19th, 2019 - 72 comments

Online behaviour like any other behaviour can be modified but this will not happen by itself.

Aussie aussie aussie …

Written By: - Date published: 5:46 pm, May 18th, 2019 - 130 comments

The Australian election is on today.  Is this the end of Scomo and the Liberals?  Is Tony Abbott goneburger? Will the last act of Bob Hawke’s life push Labor over the line?

The hard change of forestry

Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, May 18th, 2019 - 98 comments

Forestry is forcing an important tilting point between mitigating climate change and land use, and it’s going to affect the viability of some North Island towns.

In praise of Judith Collins

Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, May 17th, 2019 - 35 comments

In what is possibly a first ever occurrence the Standard is publishing a post in praise of Judith Collins for standing up for Green MP Golriz Ghahraman.

Why Labour’s student debt policy is a success

Written By: - Date published: 1:56 pm, May 15th, 2019 - 85 comments

National has claimed that Labour’s tertiary fees policy is failing because numbers applying for it have not increased.  But National clearly has failed to understand that the policy is about reducing student loan totals or it is deliberately misinterpreting the reason for the policy.