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notices and features - Date published:
6:00 pm, September 11th, 2015 - 38 comments
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The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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Tony Abbott caught joking about climate change and the effects on the Pacific …
http://www.3news.co.nz/world/video-tony-abbott-caught-joking-about-climate-change-2015091116#ixzz3lP62Z05E
Makes you wonder what he is saying privately.
Key was on 6pm news commenting on the differences between Australia/NZ and the Pacific Island nations over Climate Change. He uttered words to the effect… they (Pacific Island leaders) believe their low lying islands are going to be swamped by rising sea levels but time will tell if they are right or not. The inference (delivered with a nice smile) being that the Pacific leaders are a bunch of low level fools prepared to believe anything, while he and Abbott are superior beings with superior knowledge. No comprehension that in reality they are the cretinous ones – not the Pacific Island leaders!
Yeah, he said, in regard to the claims of ome pacific island nations that climate change could threaten their very existence: “that might, or might not, be true” followed by “but time will tell if they are right or not”.
The arsehole.
In other words “I don’t know, and am completely indifferent”.
Judith Collins advocates for breaching UN treaties …
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/collins-nz-should-back-air-strikes-2015091110#.VfJFTXGxKPA.twitter
Yes it was but I was more concerned with what she said about CYFS. Expect more draconian, anti-human legislation from this government that manages to make things worse while providing a profit for private providers.
Just missing: http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/4/z/6/8/8/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620×349.14z6uv.png/1432513800904.jpg
Daily Review picture? Priceless!
More like nauseating.
Looks like Abbot is smuggling a budgie or something in his front,
while Putin seems to have put in a little fudgie or something in his back.
The saga of Opua School at last made it to the local paper today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11511529
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“New Zealand schools need to be delivered from deadweight of bureaucratic authoritarianism. And at base lies the education review office. The review office is pure Kafka …”
https://networkonnet.wordpress.com/2015/08/22/blood-in-the-water-the-education-review-office-terror-by-design-randomness-non-accountability-and-infinite-bureaucratic-demand-part/
https://networkonnet.wordpress.com
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/71977405/radio-hosts-suspended-for-slutshaming-20yearold-eating-disorder-survivor
This sums up John Key’s New Zealand. It’s exclusive and divisive and it shows in increasing instances of behaviour like this.
“On the cusp of something special”?
If the breakdown of inclusive society is the “something special”, then I want no part of it.
John Keys NZ ?
This is just international culture.
Interwebs has homogenized everything.
homogenized?
https://www.google.co.nz/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=homogenized%20definition
We used to be better than that. Not anymore though.
Between mincing down the runway, “gay red top” comments, and ponytail pulling, the message from the top is clear…
bullying is ok as long as you can convince muddle NZ that it’s a joke.
To much “homo” behavior, you reckon?
Key’s M.O. has been to appeal to the beers around the barbecue set but it’s risky in that he’s shown his true colours on several occasions.
By taking on the blokey, bullying persona he’s invited muddle New Zealand to accept bullying and oneupmanship as a normal everyday occurrence. He’s invited muddle New Zealand to accept that making fun of gay people and attacking women who make a fuss as totally normal and right.
We are a poorer place for it, IMO.
‘John Key’s New Zealand’ is itself a product of the homogenisation of the dominant political cultures around the world which usually is identified by the label ‘neoliberal’.
And the ‘international culture’ you are trying to deflect blame upon is itself a product of that homogenised political culture. It’s not some independent, parallel, purely technologically-provoked development.
Ask yourself, for example, why particular technological ‘innovation’ occurs and, more significantly, why the technological developments that do occur get used in the ways that they are now used?
It’s down to the dominant ideological settings – born of neoliberal policy primarily pursued as part of a quite deliberate attempt by elites to retake the vast economic advantages that they had before the 1930s (see David Harvey’s book ‘A Brief History of Neoliberalism‘ for a pretty accessible read of these sweeping, global political and economic changes).
It’s being going on for over thirty years, of course, but Key’s government is the logical continuation of it.
More specifically, stunts like the one in the link are primarily about provocative attempts to gain audience ratings. But notice that the over-riding concern with audience ratings in the new media outlets generated over that time (i.e., outlets that are themselves products of neoliberal reforms) is simply part of the obvious neoliberal logic extended to a thoroughgoing wild west media marketplace.
Anyone at the time with any common sense or reflective capacity on the nature of the Reagan/Thatcher/Douglas financial and economic reforms could have foretold these kinds of outcomes with ease (because they’d happened before in the 20th century when similar policies held sway).
Any pre-existing ‘social glue’ and moral norms inevitably get put under pressure by the logic of neoliberalism and eventually, like a piece of number 8 wire continually bent backwards and forwards, will weaken and snap.
Those, in the marketplace, left cleaving to older virtues such as common decency will start to look like unadaptable dinosaurs afraid to apply a bit of ‘creative destruction’ to the social and moral order through ‘business innovation’ and cutting edge marketing, etc..
Of course, despite those over-weaning pressures that come from the working out of neoliberal logic in real time, there are still good people around – but even they increasingly make compromises in their behaviour in relation to how they believe they should act.
+1
… including your American English spellings, right?
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/homogenize
My old pocket oxford from the 1960’s also prefers a ‘z’..
Things have turned a bit crap for Mr Harper-man and the Tories in Canada’s Federal election campaign. Recent polls have them slipping to 3rd place behind the Liberals and NDP at about 26% across the country. Crucially they are falling behind the Liberals in seat-rich Ontario which often decides elections with the FPTP system Canada (still!) uses. At any rate none other than a certain Mr Lynton Crosby has been drafted in from Australia to try and stem the losses.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-election-2015-lynton-crosby-conservatives-1.3223315
Got to hand it to Abbot, he’s in great shape for a man in his mid 50’s.
Looks like he’s even got some wash board abs, impressive.
Shame he’s hopeless as a PM.
If you’re referring to the picture, it’s been around for yonks. In other words taken quite a few years ago.
Yeah, but he looks like a bit of a git…
https://www.themonthly.com.au/sites/default/files/m/Prime_Minister_Tony_Abbott_0.jpg
http://www.theshovel.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Tony-Abbott-coal.jpg
https://donaldelley.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/033650-tony-abbott.jpg
https://polyfeministix.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/tony-abbott-with-hat.jpg
http://www.tntmagazine.com/image.php/media/content/_master/44795/images/abbott.jpg?file=media%2Fcontent%2F_master%2F44795%2Fimages2Fabbott.jpg&width=450
http://images.dailylife.com.au/2010/08/04/1743963/bowlingman2.jpg?rand=1280899096751
http://pedestriantv-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images%2Farticle%2F2015%2F02%2F06%2F88cfb2c8-69e5-4aae-aab5-eb702ee044d0-Tone3.jpg
http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view/83249/people-skills-o.gif
https://stublogs.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/tony-abbott-420×0.jpg
There is a vigorous debate about the flag in this article.
Panel advising on new flag ‘cobbled together’ advice from designers:
Link : http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/71941611/panel-advising-on-new-flag-cobbled-together-advice-from-designers
I read the following comment from a reader. I would like to know if there is any valid substance to this claim. What do you think?
Comment was :
“Its my understanding at least two of the four proposed flags are trade Marked by its owner. If one of these is picked as our new flag either the owner will have to relinquish the trade mark or the government will have to buy it
I wonder how much money someone would want for their flag that is going to be shown worldwide as a National symbol of a country $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$”
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Also of interest is this other article:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11511139
Shows that the whole process has been a manipulated crap and a cunning stunt.
I’ve heard Kyle Lockwood would transfer or relinquish what intellectual property he had to the NZ government if one of his several designs were successful.
At this point it looks like being the case because one of his designs will have the backing of the National party vault and we will not have seen a marketing campaign like it before in New Zealand. There will be celebrity endorsements as yet unheard of in order to get one of the Lockwoods over the line.
I suspect it will be the black and blue Lockwood because as David Farrar has said, there’s too much Labour red in the red and blue version.
I am astonished at the audacity and stupidity of the panel and the cabinet to give us four final flags, three of which have the SAME symbol and the fourth is a dull rendering of an important Maori theme. In reality, we are given just ONE choice : A fern! A dumb panel and a manipulated referendum. Personally, I have no real choice but to stick with the current flag for now.
It was certainly nice of you to mention lockjaw thrice in three sentences. He will appreciate the publicity no doubt.
Lockwood’s Logos!
Sorry ’bout that. Not much else you can do because his designs don’t even have a name! So, we much fall to the use of his name by default.
Nice bit of self promotion there.
Everyday Misogyny: Sexism is OK as long as it’s funny – so rules the Advertising Standards Authority
But looking at the ASA’s page we see this:
and one wonders just what the purpose of the ASA is because it doesn’t appear to be to hold businesses that break the law/codes to account.
We live in a country that can’t even do a proper investigation to the gang rape of young women, by a group of young men – who then bragged about it on the internet.
Our society is so patriarchal we can’t even mention the word feminism, without some male moaning about it. Or the start crying like a 2 year old, and spraying that their sexist comment was only, “a joke”.
Comedy is great, indeed I love Maria Bamford, Jo Brand, and Frankie Boyle. I Where is the humour in repeatedly objectifying women on billboards, with at best, another boring, lazy, tired, pun.
I thought we were suppose to be clever in this country? Obviously our advertising people are not.
Chinese construction firms sign on to support major Wellington projects
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/71956520/chinese-construction-firms-sign-on-to-support-major-wellington-projects
Wellington to host 2017 New Zealand-China Mayoral forum
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/71825783/wellington-to-host-2017-new-zealandchina-mayoral-forum
Fairey’s Theory of Awesomeness (Nominate 2016)
Guess which type that National MPs fit into?
Every now and then I drop by to see what this guy is saying. He’s always interesting:
http://www.stonekettle.com/2015/09/those-good-old-labor-days.html
A well thought out and interesting essay. Thanks.