Open mike 06/06/2024

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 6th, 2024 - 37 comments
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37 comments on “Open mike 06/06/2024 ”

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  1. SPC 1
    6 June 2024 at 8:30 am

    Charlie Kirk has been at war with US colleges, taking the view of the Argentinian President, that an education system that turns out those of the progressive liberal or social democratic left is no good.

    His social conservative, pro capitalist line – a form of God and mammon dominionism that requires a censorship of any deviation from orthodoxy, is a revisionist McCarthyism.

    The U.S. is built on civic discourse, and the free flow of ideas is how we advance society. If one group holds dominion over ideology, humanity cannot progress.

    A person is not educated because they’ve been told what is right and wrong. An educated person is somebody who’s been trained to question, evaluate, and conclude. And true education is critical to a free and democratic society.

    https://medium.com/p/9237594ee0f2

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1
      6 June 2024 at 8:38 am

      I couldn't read the link, but a quick search of Ol' Charlie……

      Promotion of falsehoods and conspiracy theories

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Kirk#Political_positions_and_activities

      And yea, Critical Thinking..is Critical : )

    • James Simpson 1.2
      6 June 2024 at 10:23 am

      I disagree with a lot of what Charlie Kirk has to say. But his argument that US College is scam isn't to far off the mark. Kids are putting themselves into a life time of debt to get a piece of paper they probably don't need and often regret.

      Universities are a critical part of every society. But they shouldn't be a prerequisite to having a fulfilling career and cause massive financial distress for so many Americans.

      It was the fictional character Will Hunting that summed up Charlie's argument best almost 30 years ago.

      See, the sad thing about a guy like you is, in 50 years you're gonna start doin' some thinkin' on your own and you're going to come up with the fact that there are two certainties in life: one, don't do that, and two, you dropped 150 grand on a fuckin' education you could have got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library!

      • tWig 1.2.1
        6 June 2024 at 12:09 pm

        Just whizzed through Madeline Pendleton's economic autobiography deconstructing her experience with the US capitalist system at the bottom. She grew up in Fresno in a low-income family with generational poverty, studied and worked at the low end of the US economy for years. She critiques the US education loan system, and exposes the private for-profit college system that cripples low-income students after training with enduring debt.

        A great read, and a perceptive personal analysis of the US system from underneath. Madeline finishes by discussing the clothes company she established, where all workers, including herself, gets the same income, and excess profit is used to buy assets like reliable cars and cheap housing for company workers.

        Got it from the local library, and up til 2am reading it last night.

  2. Morrissey 2
    6 June 2024 at 8:34 am

    Has Britain's hopeless Labour leader apologised for this supporter's violence?

    https://x.com/Lowkey0nline/status/1786311986227102159

  3. Jimmy 3
    6 June 2024 at 8:38 am

    Could Labour end up winning another seat if this goes bad for the Maori party?

    Labour leader Chris Hipkins says Te Pāti Māori allegations very serious – NZ Herald

  4. Tiger Mountain 4
    6 June 2024 at 9:01 am

    Pretty low stuff from Chris Hipkins trying to knife Te Pāti Māori. TPM are providing sterling leadership at the moment, getting communities organised–unlike Labour who you hardly get a squeak from at street level.

    The Natzos, Act and NZ First virtually bought the election on media channels with their large donations–aided of course by revenge voters, munters, and the usual suspects like landlords and small business.

    Back in the Internet Mana days NZ Labour put significant resources into the West Auckland corner of Te Tai Tokerau to defeat Hone Harawira and stop Laila Harre returning to Parliament.

    Chris Hipkins dialled in a Cap’n’s Call on Wealth Tax and CGT which helped Labour lose the election–he should be more concerned about the future implications of that than shafting a flax roots party that is growing support.

    • James Simpson 4.1
      6 June 2024 at 11:47 am

      In an election when the electorate swung to the right, you think Labour lost because they dropped left policies like Wealth Tax and CGT?

      But to your point I think Hipkins has identified that TPM is taking a very extreme position on Maori sovereignty and rights which will likely frighten many kiwis. I can already foresee the tactics of the right at the next election. A Government with TPM in it will be a difficult sell to many Kiwis.

      I suspect Hipkins is now on a mission to kill that off before it becomes an issue for him

      • Tiger Mountain 4.1.1
        6 June 2024 at 1:51 pm

        You can suspect what you like, the fact is Māori numbers are approaching 20% of the population with most under 40. Māori birth rate is at replacement level, pākehā and other tau iwi are around 1.6%, so demographics are changing.

        New gens are less likely to be freaked out by Māori power than older folks. So Hipkins has a double bind, TPM will get more organised, while others despair of Labour’s adherence to Rogernomics 40 years on.

        • James Simpson 4.1.1.1
          6 June 2024 at 1:58 pm

          Do you think Maori all have the same political views?

          That is a very arrogant and racist view if you do.

          Maori voted on mass for parties other than TPM if you want to ponder that question.

          • Tiger Mountain 4.1.1.1.1
            6 June 2024 at 2:20 pm

            Really, if you know Aotearoa NZ history the answer to your question mark is obvious. Māori were traders, entrepreneurs, and there has always been a pro capitalist section since colonisation.

            The thing is most Māori are working class and are on the wrong end of all sorts of statistics–as are other working class people. That does not guarantee fight back–but TPM are pushing back so that is why they are under attack from the ruling class and its representatives.

            • James Simpson 4.1.1.1.1.1
              6 June 2024 at 2:45 pm

              It was binary question directed at you, which you didn't really answer.

              On the assumption that you agree that Maori have different political views, why do you think their increasing demographic will benefit TPM, when the vast majority of Maori vote for other parties?

              • adam …
                6 June 2024 at 4:41 pm

                James Simpson your lack of understanding on how MMP works, coupled with your total lack of understanding how Māori voted in the last election makes your statements look weak.

                Here is some help, Māori split their vote in every electorate the Te Pāti Māori ran in. With the overwhelming majority of party vote going to Labour. Te Pāti Māori ran a campaign to win electorates, not party vote. Strategically a small percentage of party votes went to Te Pāti Māori to get overhang. Which was achieved.

                Te Pāti Māori is not the be all, and end all voice for Māori. No one is arguing that, what Te Pāti Māori is about is giving a voice to Māori who feel/are disposed and disillusioned with the political process which overwhelmingly supports the interest of the few over the many.

            • aj 4.1.1.1.1.2
              6 June 2024 at 3:34 pm

              The thing is most Māori are working class and are on the wrong end of all sorts of statistics–as are other working class people

              Yes. Same in the USA with African Americans, working class, and the poor. It's a class war, but divide and rule tactics are at play here, there, and everywhere.

        • Stefan 4.1.1.2
          6 June 2024 at 8:57 pm

          You maybe right on birth rate levels but non European groups are growing much faster driven by immigration. I think Asian ethnicity is now greater than Maori and it almost double in the time from the last census. European % will decrease but I don’t see Maori growing as a % of the population and considering all birth rate global are dropping it would be a shock if Maori rates dropped below replacement too soon. NZ future is going to continue to be heavily immigrant just not the white kind.

  5. Incognito 5
    6 June 2024 at 9:12 am

    Another broken election promise but where’s the backlash from New Zealanders, MSM, experts and charities to put the gumboot into National and this coalition government?

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/518756/kapiti-coast-s-last-psychiatrist-quits-as-government-fails-to-keep-funding-promise

    Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey told RNZ work by Health New Zealand was underway on developing a mental health and addiction workforce plan.

    Working on some kind of plan is not the same as coughing up the funding, as you had promised, Mr Doocey, and you know it.

    • Patricia Bremner 5.1
      6 June 2024 at 11:51 am

      They, National in this CoC Govt, have caused such financial stress and work uncertainty that responses to outrages are muted by people's worry over food, child care, sick leave and rates and insurances plus the 90 day rot, all leading to mental health issues and the silence of the lambs.

      Maori have organised two protests.

      We need a leader to organise a day of protests over broken promises.

      Sad to see Chris Hipkins falling for a baited hook about stats. Keep your eyes on the goal of changing the Govt Chris.

      Where were you Chris Hipkins, when it was revealed there had been a 600% increase in dolphin deaths? Sea bed mining next.

    • gsays 5.2
      6 June 2024 at 5:41 pm

      It makes you wonder what Health New Zealand/Te Whatu Ora have been doing with Little's $1B.

      I've often thought some of the anonymous boffins in the Public Service need a lot more accountability.

  6. SPC 6
    6 June 2024 at 9:17 am

    The government revenues are higher than Treasury forecast because they under-estimated the amount of tax liable off interest or PIE income (vehicle for those on higher tax rates). The upside of higher interest rates.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/06/government-books-get-boost-from-financial-markets-trust-tax-payments.html

  7. Mike the Lefty 7
    6 June 2024 at 10:36 am

    I am wondering why the hell Chris Hipkins is so interested in the (latest) right-wing dirty politics conspiracy against Te Pati Maori over alleged use of personal data for election campaigning.

    Shouldn't he be going after National full bore after their horrendous budget which has disillusioned a fair proportion of New Zealanders apart from those who own a lot of property and earn an above average income?

    Shouldn't he be demanding the resignation of a constituency MP who admitted he made a "mistake" and vastly overspent his budgetary allowance on campaigning for the previous election?

    The CoC must be sitting back and laughing while Hipkins does their job for them, going after TPM.

    Labour needs a new leader – soon.

    • Tiger Mountain 7.1
      6 June 2024 at 10:48 am

      Agree. ABH–anyone but Hipkins, and that is not to totally demonise him, he like everyone else had a bloody hard time during peak COVID.

      As I said at #4…Chris Hipkins dialled in a Cap’n’s Call on Wealth Tax and CGT which helped Labour lose the election–he should be more concerned about the future implications of that than shafting a flax roots party that is growing support on the ground.

      • Mike the Lefty 7.1.1
        6 June 2024 at 11:26 am

        I still find it so hard to believe that Labour wimped out on these things. After its unprecedented majority victory in 2020 it could have carried out a strong programme of change with no hindrance. Even some economic and business interest groups were quietly saying that a CGT or wealth tax was almost inevitable in the long run. They were set up ripe and ready to really change the NZ economy for the better and make it more sustainable and equitable, but failed to act.

        I have nothing personal against Chris Hipkins, but he is really mostly just Jacinda's successor rather than the vital leader of Labour that they need.

        • Rosielee 7.1.1.1
          6 June 2024 at 1:59 pm

          It was Jacinda Ardern who announced straight after the 2017 election that there would no CGT.

    • bwaghorn 7.2
      6 June 2024 at 12:01 pm

      Hipkins got asked what he thought about the accusations and said it needs looking into, that's hardly going after tmp!! It's possible its dp, bit best to check just incase

      • James Simpson 7.2.1
        6 June 2024 at 1:20 pm

        And he is 100% correct. It needs looking into. I am not sure why anyone would object to that?

        • Vivie 7.2.1.1
          6 June 2024 at 4:13 pm

          Chris Hipkins was responding to the media's questions about claims of misused census data, to help Te Pāti Māori's election campaign. If he had commented they were not worth investigating, this would not make sense, and would be ammunition for the Government and the media against Labour.

          Recent polls show Labour is gaining popularity, so there seems no reason to replace Hipkins, as some people suggest. He comes across as sincere, down to earth and practical. A change of leader would make Labour look divided and unstable.

      • Jilly Bee 7.2.2
        6 June 2024 at 3:07 pm

        My thoughts too bwaghorn – I thought his response was quite measured. These accusations need clearing up whichever way they go.

    • adam 7.3
      6 June 2024 at 4:25 pm

      Your right Mike the Lefty its another play from dirty politics hand book.

      When in the real world the right thing to do is investigate, then report findings – rather than make a mountain out of a mole hill over accusations.

      But no, we get the gaggle of useful idiot lining up to poo poo Te Pāti Māori.

      And, you'd think that some people might have half a brain, and get this is the same shit they pulled in the donkey years. But…

    • Spa 7.4
      6 June 2024 at 7:09 pm

      My guess is that there is substance to these allegations but Tamahere/TMP may take the National Party defence of blaming an over enthusiastic junior staffer.

  8. Ad 8
    6 June 2024 at 10:52 am

    Fantastic news to see the Australian ACTU come out of their congress aiming for 5 weeks or 25 days leave gor every union member.

    Strongly hope this is the Federal government that can do it.

  9. dv 9
    6 June 2024 at 2:07 pm

    See the Natz are going to pay 65000$ each to fix and prevent each pothole/

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350298087/nz-politics-live-transport-minister-simeon-brown-speaks

    • Jilly Bee 9.1
      6 June 2024 at 3:05 pm

      Still nothing for the 13 cancer drugs though – I know what I would prioritise.

  10. AB 10
    6 June 2024 at 2:22 pm

    Luxo is apparently not ruling out a public enquiry into the allegations against TPM concerning misuse of census data. Though he says he will let the current Police enquiry run its course. This is a terrific opportunity to distract from the dumpster fire that is the CoC and the Herald is running the distraction energetically.

    But I wonder, what does one call a government that likes to use the power and institutions of the state to discredit its political opponents?