This is bound to cause comment. The Daily Mail recently ran an article confirming what many already know, that right wingers are less intelligent than left wingers. After the article there is 1,001 comments offering further evidence that this proposition is, without doubt, correct.
“In psychological terms, the relation between intelligence and prejudice may stem from the propensity of individuals with lower cognitive ability to endorse more right wing conservative ideologies because such ideologies offer a psychological sense of stability and order.”
In simple terms a right winger responds to a new situation with fear while a lefty responds with curiosity.
This is a bit of an oversimplification. There are two basic types of right winger, and this article only deals with one of them.
I’ve always thought that the problem with righties isn’t that they are dumb, it’s that they are selfish. The right wing philosophy is built on the idea of taking care of yourself and your own, and refusing to accept any responsibility for anyone else. A whole bunch of people all trying to make themselves into islands, in other words.
There’s the (usually) rich intelligent right wingers, who know exactly what they are doing – i.e. trying to set everything up in their favour so they get all the rewards, and then making sure they don’t have to share them with anyone else. They are not dumb, they’re just selfish and proud of it.
Then there’s the (usually) poor and dumb righties who can’t ever aspire to have the wealth of their counterparts, but like the disregard for others that characterises the right wing when this is directed at groups of people they dislike (anyone who’s not like them).
Lefties are the types who recognise that we are all interconnected, and what affects your neighbours affects you. It’s a complex system of feedback and you can’t cut yourself off from everyone else no matter how hard you try.
The dumb righties are too stupid to recognise that, and the smart ones are in denial about anything could ruin their pure vision of themselves as the centre of their own universe.
This is not to suggest that all conservatives are stupid. There are some very clever people in government, advising politicians, running thinktanks, writing for newspapers, who have acquired power and influence by promoting rightwing ideologies.
But what we now see among their parties – however intelligent their guiding spirits may be – is the abandonment of any pretence of high-minded conservatism. On both sides of the Atlantic, conservative strategists have discovered that there is no pool so shallow that several million people won’t drown in it. Whether they are promoting the idea that Barack Obama was not born in the US, that manmade climate change is an eco-fascist-communist-anarchist conspiracy or that the deficit results from the greed of the poor, they now appeal to the basest, stupidest impulses, and find that it does them no harm in the polls.
So there are various sectors amongst right supporters but the message is being dumbed down to appeal to one sector only. The rest just nod and wink and enjoy the benefits.
Just to show I am an equal opportunity stirrer Monbiot also questions why in the face of such stupidity the left do not do better. In particular:
But when I survey this wreckage I wonder who the real idiots are. Confronted with mass discontent, the once-progressive major parties, as Thomas Frank laments in his latest book Pity the Billionaire, triangulate and accommodate, hesitate and prevaricate, muzzled by what he calls “terminal niceness”(9). They fail to produce a coherent analysis of what has gone wrong and why, or to make an uncluttered case for social justice, redistribution and regulation. The conceptual stupidities of conservatism are matched by the strategic stupidities of liberalism.
Yes, conservatism thrives on low intelligence and poor information. But the liberals in politics on both sides of the Atlantic continue to back off, yielding to the supremacy of the stupid. It’s turkeys all the way down.
Cheap oil Easy credit selects for selfish intelligent rightwing.
Expensive energy hard credit selects for selfish intelligent rightwing.
Changing times selects for selfish intelligent left wings.
???
the left creating order and certainty means they lay foundations for convervatists.
My observation is that it isnt so much a left / right wing split in intelligence but relates to your view on religion
Those that are heavily religious are generally (but not always) of low intelligence…
Conservatives – particularly in the USA are generally religious and are classified in the ‘right’ bucket in the study hence causing the relationship
Also the following quotes in another article on the same study (link below) are interesting:
“So a smart person (all else being equal) will probably be in favour of capitalism generally, and free-trade in particular. He or she will distrust state intervention in the markets, probably be suspicious of welfarism and deeply dislike protectionism, union closed-shops and tariffs. The smart person will believe that the have-nots should be encouraged to become haves by dint of their own labours and by the levelling of economic playing fields, NOT by taking money off the haves and giving it to them.” – In simple terms – for capitalism = smart, against it = dumb(er)
“This matches other findings that show that IQ correlates not with left-wing thinking as such, but with classic Enlightenment liberalism.”
[lprent: Why change emails and handles (including capitalization) all of the time? This is the 4th or 5th change since November. It just means that a moderator has to go to the effort of releasing you from first time moderation each time it happens. It is a lot of effort for us to go to checking that you aren’t banned and aren’t someone trying to hijack your identity because you can’t remember a e-mail and how to spell a name. Please settle on one and stick to it before we stop releasing them. ]
Understood – my details dont seem to save therefore have to re-enter them hence change handle as the mood dictates….didnt appreciate it caused a hassle on yourside – apologies
The details are stored in cookies on your systems. They get sent to the server when you pick up a page so the details can be auto filled in. If you have set it to not take cookies at your browser then that would be the cause. It could also be oneof the more irritating Internet security systems.
If that isn’t intentional, then my usual advise is to simply use a different browser. Some of them (Internet explorer) are just a pain in the arse. Currently google chrome or Firefox are pretty good and available on most platforms.
I’m running an IQ of around 140. I used to be right-wing but then I looked at the facts, considered the theory and it’s assumptions, realised that the free-market was complete BS and became a radical lefty.
What makes someone right-wing is a complete denial of reality either because it doesn’t suit their selfishness or because they’re stupid.
Probably being a bit harsh there DTB. Many people are simply ill informed.
The deliberate propaganda program by the right and there wholly owned media means that people have to dig deep to get unbiased information.
Those that are heavily religious are generally (but not always) of low intelligence…
That’s complete and utter nonsense. It may make you feel superior, but any proof you provide (and I see that you don’t actually provide any) will probably amount to a link to Sir Lord Herr Professor Dawkins and his ‘Brights”. Meaningless.
Conservatives – particularly in the USA are generally religious and are classified in the ‘right’ bucket in the study hence causing the relationship
As is that. There’s no proof that conservatives are generally religious – even in the USA, although many of them certainly claim that they are..
“So a smart person (all else being equal) will probably be in favour of capitalism generally, and free-trade in particular. He or she will distrust state intervention in the markets, probably be suspicious of welfarism and deeply dislike protectionism, union closed-shops and tariffs. The smart person will believe that the have-nots should be encouraged to become haves by dint of their own labours and by the levelling of economic playing fields, NOT by taking money off the haves and giving it to them.” – In simple terms – for capitalism = smart, against it = dumb(er)
Please note that educated people don’t use smart and dumb as synonyms for clever and stupid. Using dumb = stupid, is a juvenile insult against those with communication disabilities.
Proof for my statement re a link between IQ and religion (or at least supporting evidence) was in my link. I have re pasted below. I should have included in my post…apologies
“Other studies have found correlations between strong religiosity (a traditional marker of conservatism) and low intelligence”
And my statement that a large component of the right wing conservative / tea party / republican movement in the US is highly religious isn’t one I thought would need me to provide supporting evidence for.
Given the aggressive nature of your response I take you believe in a higher power!
Given the aggressive nature of your response I take you believe in a higher power!
That doesn’t compute… I would love to know why you associate aggression with religion! Have you had bad experiences with religious people, maybe?
And my statement that a large component of the right wing conservative / tea party / republican movement in the US is highly religious isn’t one I thought would need me to provide supporting evidence for.
Right… having sorted out your grammar, no, I still don’t agree – because you seem to have ignored the bit where I said that they claim to be highly religious. Someone will leap in and scream “No true Scotsman fallacy’ at me, but whether you/they like it or not, true Christians/Muslims would never have a bar of tea party prejudice and war-mongering.
Bwahahahahahahaha snort hahahahahahahaha guffaw snort hahahahahahahahahaha snort snort hahaha… Troubles in Northern Ireland hahahahahahah The Crusades hahahahaha The Inquisition hahahahahaha snort the Moorish and Ottoman invasions hahahahahahahahahaha the Albigensian Crusade hahaha…. The Massacre of the Huguenots hahahaha… Shall I go on? What are your meds? I want some….
Clopidogrel and Lipitor (Atorvastatin)… sure you want some?
Yours is a pretty silly answer really. For every (allegedly) religious war you can name, I can name 3 that have no (allegedly) religious motivation. It seems to me that many atheists are black and white thinkers, subtleties escape them – but even Sir Lord Herr Professor Dawkins and his fanbois have been known to admit that they know perfectly well that The Troubles (for instance) are political, with a gloss of religion to provide ‘respectability’…
but even Sir Lord Herr Professor Dawkins and his fanbois have been known to admit that they know perfectly well that The Troubles (for instance) are political, with a gloss of religion to provide ‘respectability’…
Wtf exactly do failures in drug testing do to drug companies being myopically focused on profit have to do with braindead ideological excuses for conflict?
And every time this subject (and reproductive rights) comes up your brain goes to custard and you make downright stupid arguments in amongst the occasionally smart ones.
As for the “black n white” quip, repeat after me, “the plural of anecdotes is not data”. Also, how the fuck is empiricism black and white thinking, when the supporting arguments involves multiple lines of philosophical inquiring, including teh always perturbing natures of inference?
@Populuxe1
/fractal-facepalm
Stat’s indicate that overall IQ scores show no statistically significant difference between atheists/religious, it’s only when looking at various sects that statistically significant differences appear. Predominantly with charismatic and/or conservative evangelical sects.
Which you’d already know if you read the fucking research.
Apologies for my first sentence, I’m still getting over some mild food poisoning and after work was rather brainless for a while on top of feeling crap-ish.
@Populuxe1
/fractal-facepalm
Stat’s indicate that overall IQ scores show no statistically significant difference between atheists/religious, it’s only when looking at various sects that statistically significant differences appear. Predominantly with charismatic and/or conservative evangelical sects.
Which you’d already know if you read the fucking research.
Better face palm again NickS – at no time did I make such an assertion. I was commenting on Vicky’s rather rose-tinted view of Christian history Which you would know if you read the fucking post
Proof for my statement re a link between IQ and religion (or at least supporting evidence) was in my link. I have re pasted below. I should have included in my post…apologies
“Other studies have found correlations between strong religiosity (a traditional marker of conservatism) and low intelligence”
Hmm, don’t know about that. I’m pretty much a 6th level atheist but I’ve met some profoundly smart people who are profoundly religious.
Perhaps I hang out in the wrong circles, but I don’t think we in NZ have large numbers of the sort of fundies that the U.S. does – with a few notable exceptions obviously.
Listening to the U.S tea-party types it can be very hard to tell where nationalism ends and religion begins. I get the impression they’d consider it unpatriotic to not identify as religious. Religious kiwis by and large don’t fall for that sort of conflation of church and country.
Sure we have God’s name in the anthem and we throw around platitudes like “godzone” a lot more than I’d like, but religious kiwis don’t tend suffer from the delusion that god has somehow charged our nation with a special mission on earth.
Saying you’re religious in NZ may mean something quite different to saying it in parts of the U.S. where it often seems to be used as a sort of shorthand for being fond of democracy, freedom, and the American way of life.
I also have to agree with Vicky about people in power claiming to be religious for political reasons. This is another road we haven’t gone down in NZ where even our highest level politicians can say they’re religious or a bit religious or not religious at all (varying from day-to-day in John Key’s case) and no-one really cares too much one way or the other.
I think what these cultural differences mean is that studies of religious belief in the U.S. aren’t going to translate very well to this part of the world. Of course we have plenty of stupid people here, but our munters are just munters. They don’t generally wrap themselves in religion to be accepted by the herd – probably quite the reverse if anything.
Personally I don’t think there’s anything particularly smart about ignoring the spiritual side of life either. In fact I think only a fool would, atheist and all.
I think there’s a 3rd group: those who are simply so out of touch with society and how other people live that they don’t realise they’re being selfish. They simply have no conception of what it is like to be disadvantaged and therefore instead of having compassion for someone on a benefit, they see them as a bludger with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Not quite. Old fashioned wet conservatives are very community (and often conservation) minded. They look after friends, family and local communities very well. But they have no time for bludgers, slackers and lay abouts. These old fashioned Tories are quite different from neolib NATs.
In other news, studies show that people who run around in the rain get wet 😉
It’s so self-evident it’s hilarious to think that it needs to be studied. I mean that’s essentially the definition of conservatism – reluctance to change, dislike of the other, antipathy to progression, fear of the unknown.
It seems to me that many who self-identify as “conservative” – especially at an early age, the sort of panty-sniffers and thumb-suckers you find in the young nats for example – seem to have never examined exactly what it is they’re identifying as. It’s more like a club they join that offers the security of never having to examine themselves (or anything else) too closely for comfort.
And understandable if so. Imagine the cognitive dissonance that would arise from actually admitting to yourself that you think things are as good as they’ll ever be and we’d best just stop now, um actually let’s go back a bit just to be sure.
In fact it’s to their advantage to be a bit thick if they want to hold fast to their thick beliefs, because a smarter person simply couldn’t do it. The best a smart conservative can hope for is a double life where inwardly s/he understands the absurdity of it all but publicly puts on a thick face to avoid confrontation, both internal and within the peer group.
Awful really. Some of your Nat friends really are this twisted, grinning smugly to the world while cowering behind the eyes.
Ever wondered why Putin is so popular? It turns out he pays big time for the support, channelling thousands to pet bloggers and trained trolls who churn out pro-Putin comments by the Lada load. Of course, that could never happen in NZ.
That’s like saying people liked Kermit the Frog because they were suspicious of Jim Henson. A surprising majority of ordinary Russians actually do like his dark majesty Putin for all his faults because they crave security and stability – something they haven’t really known since the Tsars. It might look dodgy from the outside, but it’s a very Russian worldview.
Perhaps, but the misery, starvation and neglect of serfdom was at least something predictable they understood. I don’t think they had much choice in the matter of the revolutions – most of them didn’t understand the difference between Menshiviks, Bolsheviks and what have you – all they knew is that you agreed with whatever whoever was pointing the guns at you was telling you. The Russian people have always been stuck between someone’s rock and someone else’s hard place.
Interesting but I am in Berlin at a conference which includes about 10 Russian engineers and Russian politics is always a good topic.
Turns out Putin is liked because he stands up to the Mafia which otherwise would run the country. Already, it is cheaper to borrow money rom the mafia than the banks.
Putin is actually the hero of the workers and he plays to that…..
She’s trying to suck up to authors/audience at TheStandard to drag some more hits her way, is all.
She basically just agrees with Eddie’s theory that National is deliberately getting the MP angry over S9 and the SOE assets as a ploy for the 2014 election.
I mentioned this theory to my bf, he thought it sounded reasonable on the face of it, but pointed out that National most likely already has all of the redneck votes anyway. Getting maori offside is more likely to erode their soft center-left vote and send them back leftwards.
That other United Future troll Pete George does the same thing with his link, but at least he gives a headline summary. Could it be an official UF policy to post in this way?
Also your boyfriend may well be right about Nat having most of the redneck votes now, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need shoring up. It might just indicate that the Nats anticipate pissing large amounts of them off over other issues this term.
In a rush this morning – I was referring back to Eddies post on John Key and either stirring up or having foreknowledge of the s9 treaty clause issue.I’m interested in the truth. I tend to post on anything where I can smell bullshit as an independent blogger.
We encourage robust debate and we’re tolerant of dissenting views. But this site run for reasonably rational debate between dissenting viewpoints and we intend to keep it operating that way.
That is followed by a whole pile of do nots. But “robust debate” means that participants can expect others to attack ideas, sources of information, attitudes, and philosophies without the moderators considering that is worth their effort to intervene. We assume most commentators can defend themselves otherwise they wouldn’t be here.
Moderators will tend to intervene if it descends into pointless abuse, flame wars, or just looks too much like a deliberate bully session. It does get pretty tough getting agreement. The standing joke is that most of the time you only get to a agree to disagree basis – but at least others will know of the other viewpoints. Sometimes you will observe attitude changes in other later…
You can usually raise a moderator by framing something that looks like a request of clarification or an interpretation of the bounds (like you just did) or doing a don’t. Of course moderators only run roughly the same policies, so it pays not to stray too close to the edges (not that you have so far) in case you get IrishBill with a hangover. ]
Similarly we will tell you what we think of what you’re doing. In this case, we don’t think much of it at all. That’s never stopped Pete George though.
Big smile on my face! Where is PG? tell me he has been struck off the list, or is he scrubbing the hair’s curling tongs?
[lprent: He caught a 4 week vacation for attacking a author rather the contents of their post. Philu has been speaking up in his defense and against the evil moderation system. 😈
I have been trying to figure out how he triggers the spam trap sometimes and not on others. It is pretty weird. ]
Last time I looked he was over on Red Alert instead driving them up the wall with his infantile thought processes. CV followed him over for a while and did him over. My advice is stay away from RA for another couple of weeks at least.
Monique, there are reply buttons below each comment, not just in the box at the bottom of the page. Can you please use them rather than comment anew each time? It helps to keep alive that vital free flow of communication! Thanks.
And once more Family First (aka Bob McCroskrie’s Boner) has vomited forth a study, with an author known for cherry picking and “traditional” values: http://www.badscience.net/category/aric-sigman/
Yay.
Bonus points for patriarchal bullshit too with the “full-time mother” claim, because males so can’t be a full-time parent/bring home teh bacon…
To the best of my knowledge, it’s about allegiance to and a desire to be associated with Britain, as against those who wanted nothing to do with Britain. I may well have got that wrong, I am going by what my son who studied all this at school (he’s an atheist BTW) told me he learned. We’re Scots, and I don’t care about Ireland.
A timely quote from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (today was his 200th birthday):
‘Are there no prisons?’
‘Plenty of prisons,’ said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.’And the Union workhouses,’ demanded Scrooge. ‘Are they still in operation?’
‘Both very busy, sir.’
‘Oh. I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,’ said Scrooge. ‘I’m very glad to hear it.”
… “I help to support the establishments I have mentioned — they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there.’
‘Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.’
‘If they would rather die,’ said Scrooge, ‘they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”
Are polling companies allowed to use the electoral roll for recruiting subjects?
The reason I ask is that I was called by ‘Curia’ for one of their political polls and after I put the phone down I realised the poller had asked for me by Christian and Surname, and I’m only listed in the phone book by initials.
It seems an awful lot of trouble to got to – electoral roll and then the phone book. And it seemed to violate the anonymity, knowing exactly who you are and where you live. In previous non-curia polls the caller asked for a demographic, not a particular person.
interesting – if curia was using the electronic electoral roll for commercial purposes, that would be illegal.
i’m sure farrar would have an electronic roll for his national party work, but commercial use of the roll must be confined to the publicly available hardcopies.
Yeah, I thought there were restrictions on using the electoral roll. And I can’t imagine how else they could know my christian name. Where would I get more info on the correct use of the electoral roll?
much harder to use the hardcopy for mass spamming and other commercial enterprises
yes same info (almost, the e ver is richer) and same concerns, but when limited to hardcopy it’s much much harder to exploit those millions of records. there are bound to be lots of sound reasons why the roll needs to be made public, but limiting access to the e version helps to slow down its misuse.
not easy to prove, that’s why the electoral commission are very picky about who they allow access to the electronic version. if they were to discover provable commercial use of the e version, they’d prosecute with considerable prejudice. if they had sufficient reason they might be able to get a search warrant executed.
Complaint emailed to the electoral commission.
Btw it was obviously the National Party that commissioned the poll.
It may be hard to prove, but can you think of another way that pollsters based in Auckland or Wellington would know the christian name of a random participant in the provinces?
edit just checked caller display – Wgton number.
I’m in the mainland.
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Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ...
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AN OPEN LETTER FOR SIGN ON BY ORGANISATIONS AND MOVEMENTS ACROSS THE WORLD, ALLIED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST INEQUALITY. This letter was released at the UN Political Forum on 9 July, where the Sustainable Development Goal on inequality was reviewed. The purpose of the letter is to call out the ...
We asked a young gay science student and critic of trans ideology and the trans activists’ assault on women’s and gay rights to outline his views on Redline. Thanks to him for his article. by Cian Ó Catháin Gender identity ideology (Gender ID) is ripping through western society at full ...
The Environment Committee is currently hearing submissions on the Zero Carbon Bill, and Stuff is reporting on the submissions. Today, they're covering yesterday they heard from "NZ" Steel:NZ Steel has told MPs it may be forced to close with the loss of thousands of jobs if changes aren't made to ...
Students are striking against climate change on September 27. And this time, they're asking everyone to join them:Students are taking to the streets, beaches and parks on 27 September, and we're inviting everyone to join us. That's right, this is an intergenerational issue, and you're all invited to put pressure ...
Peter McKenzie has a piece on Newsroom this morning about how local body politics is awash with property developer cash. 70% of all the donations in the 2016 Wellington mayoral election came from property developers. And its pretty obvious what they want in exchange:That’s particularly important in local government, according ...
Source: Unknown, twitter user Recently, I wrote a (relatively) short paper titled as above, to explore what self-determination could like in a practical sense. Maybe I’m a bit of an international trade truther or something, but I absolutely believe trade is at the heart of achieving peace and self-determination. Since ...
In the 1960s, after I had graduated with a first-class Oxford postgraduate law degree, I joined the British Foreign Office as the top entrant of my year. There, I worked for a couple of years on European affairs and was eventually posted to the Embassy in Brussels. After this exposure ...
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...
I heard a 45 minute interview with Monica Lewinsky talking to TED’s Chris Anderson on BBC Radio 4 over the weekend, and have listened to it another two times out walking. I recommend it. Highly. Man, I am so impressed with how this woman has integrated her life experiences and ...
Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind: how good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure, London, Penguin, 2019, 352pp; reviewed by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff’s book The Coddling of the American Mind is a timely book, whose ...
When the Justice Committee reported back on the Administration of Justice (Reform of Contempt of Court) Bill, free speech advocates breathed a sigh of relief. As originally introduced, the Bill reitered the ancient offence of "scandalising the court" - basicly, a special sedition law protecting judges from criticism. The select ...
Eighteen months ago, the government promised to strengthen the Bill of Rights Act, by explicitly affirming the power of the courts to issue declarations of inconsistency and requiring Parliament to formally respond to them. Since then - crickets. Which raises the obvious question: are they actually going to do this, ...
Back in March, the Ministry of Justice conducted a public consultation exercise on whether to hold a review of the Official Information Act. 285 people submitted on it. Now, Stuff has trawled through those submissions, and the case for reform is strong:The Justice Ministry asked Kiwis what they thought was ...
National's prisoner voting ban has gone down as one of the worst laws in New Zealand history. Passed after a farcical debate (including this farcial speech from ACT MP Hilary Calvert), it has subsequently been found to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act by the High Court, Court ...
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...
by Daphna Whitmore US social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt spoke on 1 August in Auckland to a crowd of around one thousand people. He is best known for his bookThe Coddling of the American Mind which examines the new climate of trigger warnings and acute sensitivity of Gen Z. ...
What an extraordinarily depressing experience it is to be compelled to watch, at 12,000 miles distance, the contortions and machinations of the British political class as they set about their determined attempt to overturn the decision taken by the British people that they wish to leave the European Union. The ...
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...
by Don Franks Way back when British guitar virtuoso Joe Brown was a beginning session guy he got to back a visiting American artist. Young Joe was an able technician but had yet to learn some points of professionalism. Part way through “Five foot high and rising” Joe tired of ...
Since scientists started studying climate change, they have warned that it will reduce food production. And now, its happening:The climate crisis is damaging the ability of the land to sustain humanity, with cascading risks becoming increasingly severe as global temperatures rise, according to a landmark UN report compiled by some ...
The Abortion Legislation Bill just passed its first reading, 94-23. Its a far bigger margin than I expected, even allowing for the Winston factor, and it reflects the overwhelming support there is in this country for reform. but that support isn't a new thing - it has existed for literally ...
The Justice Committee has called for submissions on the Referendums Framework Bill. The Bill does what it says on the label - establishes a framework for referenda. Things you may want to address in your submission: Whether the bill should apply only at the 2020 election, or whether it should ...
The Thompson and Clark / MBIE spying scandal continues to result in fallout, this time in the form of a report on the implementation of MBIE's "Operation Exploration", its internal operation to enforce the infamous Anadarko Amendment which criminalised protests against the oil industry. MBIE's enforcement operation was tainted by ...
So, Winston Peters is defending his last-minute demand for a referendum on abortion by claiming he was "blindsided" by the bill. Really? The bill is a government bill. It has been working through the cabinet approval process since December last year. As part of that process, NZ First was consulted, ...
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...
‘Original Sin’ of Land Confiscation at Ihumātao is a wrong that can be put right by Government says Justice & Peace Commission of Catholic Diocese of Auckland ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference on August 19 that her government is likely to impose new restrictions on prisoners’ rights to send letters. She said the law could be changed in “weeks.” ...
Heart-warming images of House Speaker Trevor Mallard cradling a baby in Parliament have been welcomed around New Zealand, but the Public Service Association warns most families can only dream of such support in the workplace. ...
Applying New Zealand’s international human rights commitments, particularly those in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, can help in resolving the situation at Ihumātao, Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says. ...
Climate campaigners impersonating bank staff have taken to the streets this week to expose ANZ Bank’s sponsorship of the fossil fuel industry. In the series of satirical actions in Wellington, Dunedin, and Auckland, the ‘bank staff’ promoted ...
Auckland Action Against Poverty joins the Children’s Commissioner , The Green Party , The New Zealand Drugs Foundation , Child Poverty Action Group and other organisations in the calls for an immediate end to the drug testing benefit sanctions. ...
Negotiations between Port Otago workers represented by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) and the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) and management failed today and the unions have issued notice of an overtime ban from Saturday 7th September. ...
Queenstown Lakes District Council’s comments that it has applied for a consent to pollute waterways to avoid 'prosecutions by the Otago Regional Council' are unacceptable,’ Fish & Game New Zealand Chief Executive Martin Taylor says. ...
On March 15, the real world impact of online hate became abundantly, horrifically clear. As a shooter opened fire at two Christchurch mosques, the online image board 8chan anticipated, celebrated and amplified his killing spree. ...
Friday, 23 August: Government delegates from around the world, including New Zealand, are meeting in New York for the third of four meetings at the United Nations to agree a Global Oceans Treaty that could help to protect 30% of our oceans by 2030. Greenpeace ...
The excuses about a reportedly unwanted $57,000 payrise for Dunedin City Council CEO Sue Bidrose are laughable, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. ...
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance has launched the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” committing to no more than 2% annual rate hikes over the next Council term, and has written to all Mayoral and Council candidates asking them to sign. The pledge will ...
This Saturday, Pakuranga Hunt Day at the Ellerslie Racecourse will see anti-horse racing protesters demonstrating at the corner of Ascot Avenue and Greenlane East. ...
Mayoral candidate John Tamihere will meet with Pacific Island leaders and community elders today at Puhunui Reserve in South Auckland to commit to a Pasefika Cultural Centre. ...
Cruel and invalid Forced Swim Tests carried out at Victoria University of Wellington, will be exposed at the University Open Day today, so prospective students can be warned about the flawed and unethical research being conducted at the institute. ...
The organiser of the annual YWCA Equal Pay Awards has expressed her disappointment with the latest Gender Pay Gap figure for New Zealand workers. The figure rose slightly from 9.2% in 2018 to 9.3% for the quarter ended 30 June 2019. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearm Owners (COLFO) is urging firearms owners to pass on information to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on Christchurch Mosques now that the period for submissions has been extended to 27 September. ...
An application was filed in the Employment Relations Authority in Wellington today, seeking an injunction to prevent the Board of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation from removing the President from office. ...
The Government’s commitment to support literacy and numeracy training in the workplace is a strong signal from Government on recognising the importance of upskilling, reskilling and increasing productivity alongside their commitment to address the challenges ...
“The infrastructure sector sees a major role for the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga in lifting the nation’s sagging infrastructure performance,” says Paul Blair, incoming CEO of Infrastructure NZ. ...
The AA is calling on the Government to bring forward critical highway projects while time is spent properly developing the plans for a rapid transit system in Auckland. ...
Between 2015/16 and 2017/18, DHBs spent $280 million treating patients due to adverse drug reactions, reveals the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union in its latest briefing paper on health productivity . ...
The Pay Equity Coalition Auckland (PECA) is pleased the gender pay gap has decreased slightly. Statistics released today show the gap is now 11.9%, nearly 2 percent less than last year. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearm Owners (COLFO) is urging firearms owners to make sure they pass on any information they have to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on Christchurch Mosques before submissions close tomorrow (Friday). ...
The big electricity companies consider solar energy “disruptive” and want pricing to suppress it. In contrast, advocates of local energy say that solar, energy efficiency, and other local energy solutions are the cheapest ways to reduce carbon emissions. ...
The Earthquake Commission and Shine Lawyers are delighted to announce that EQC has reached an agreement with the Gibling family, agreeing to cover the cost of repairs of remaining earthquake damage on their property. ...
Four months into the inquiry, the Royal Commission is gathering significant information and continues to receive valuable submissions from the public, from current and former State servants, experts and community groups. ...
While Fish & Game New Zealand is pleased to see Federated Farmers Environment Spokesperson Chris Allen say that 'we all want good, fresh water', he conveniently overlooks some key facts. ...
What: Wellington demo “Save the Amazon Forest/Salve a Amazônia!” When: Friday, 6 September 2019 from 12:30-13:30 Where: Embassy of Brazil in Wellingtona ...
Rt Hon Trevor Mallard, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, welcomes the visit of His Excellency Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal. ...
A cross political Mental Health and Addictions Wellbeing group will be launched on Wednesday 28 August hosted by Sir John Kirwan and Moe Milne (ONZM) who have both been at the forefront of our country’s often difficult conversations about mental ...
Confirmation that the government will be progressing an independent Parliamentary Budget Office is great news for democracy and transparency, Federated Farmers says. ...
At first glance, Simon Bridges’ strident opposition to the government’s proposal to establish an independent office to cost political parties’ election spending plans looks childish and petty. ...
Euthanasia-Free NZ is appalled that Parliament spent so little time debating Part 2 of the End of Life Choice Bill and voted to leave it full of holes. ...
Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance and its nationwide sister group the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Auckland Mayor Phil Goff for his comments today that John Tamihere would need the Government’s support to ...
A ‘one size fits all’, inflexible and punitive regulatory regime for water quality just gets backs - and costs - up and most importantly will not work, Federated Farmers says. ...
Mediation yesterday between secondary principals and the government has resulted in a deal that the principals' negotiating team is recommending to its members. ...
Clubs New Zealand welcomes the decision of Justice Minister Andrew Little to put forward a bill amending the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act to allow all licensed premises to remain open for Rugby World Cup matches. ...
The Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation has ordered a review looking at labelling of added sugars in food and drinks. An option under investigation is ‘a pictorial approach applied to sugary beverages / sugar-sweetened beverages’ ...
Labour market data released by Statistics New Zealand today indicates that a gender pay gap persists in New Zealand, despite improvement in some areas. ...
In the midst of the 6th Great Extinction Event the coalition, STOP Trashing Our Planet is urging voters to take full responsibility for the legacy we are leaving our children. ...
LGNZ will carefully consider the proposed National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) to assess if it meets the Government’s aim of enabling urban development or simply adds more red tape to the planning process. ...
At school camp, the children are banned from having phones, laptops, lollies, chocolate, money, cotton clothing or independent thoughts. They, are, however, allowed home baking – but it’s gotta be hearty. How hearty are you? We are packing for a school camp. If you’re thinking that the middle of winter is ...
Phil Goff’s rival has already pledged an 0800-Jacinda homeless hotline and an 18-lane harbour bridge. What’s next? The two most important people in the 2019 campaign for the Auckland mayoralty faced each other down on Wednesday night across the desk in the NZME debate: Bernard Orsman and Simon Wilson. Correction: it ...
Split Level View Finder: Theo Schoon and New Zealand Art is the exhibition that sparked a protest over issues of cultural appropriation and institutional representation. Theo Schoon is a divisive historical figure. But is his art any good? Martin Patrick reviews.British novelist L.P. Hartley once wrote that “the past is ...
Ahead of debuting her solo show at New Zealand Fashion Week, Korean-NZ couture designer Cecilia Kang talks about growing up ‘feminine’, being influenced by the LGBTQ+ community, and why an ‘administrative error’ at Fashion Week left her so shaken up. ‘I like something big,” says Cecilia Kang, gesturing to the giant ...
The Labour Party is distancing itself from one of its members who is strongly pro-Beijing and has caused controversy in the Chinese community by standing for local office in Auckland. ...
Faced with staff shortages, equipment failures, cancer risks, and a jump in critical calls that can leave them traumatised, some firefighters are wondering if it’s time to hang up the hose. Gareth Shute reports on the dissatisfaction inside Fire and Emergency New Zealand.The state of our nation’s fire service is ...
“She comes over. You’re my mother, she says. Yes, I say. I don’t know you, she says”: a mother and child seaside story by Wellington author Jan Pryor. Photo by Peter Black. ...
On Monday the government announced its new five-year strategy to reduce the Māori prison population. Emilie Rākete looks at another ‘kaupapa Māori’ prison initiative that degrades prisoners and asks if Corrections are capable of seeing it through.On August 19th, the Department of Corrections announced Hōkai Rangi, its new strategy intended ...
By Michael Andrew The Indonesian media is contributing to resentment and racism toward Papuans, according to a human rights researcher and former journalist. Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch Jakarta told Pacific Media Watch many Indonesian journalists either view Papuans as enemy “separatists” or deviants and their reporting tends to convey these ...
Analysis - The prime minister puts a stake in the ground over petrol prices, National balks at having its election promises costed and the government puts millions into helping the homeless. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danilo Ignacio de Urzedo, PhD candidate, University of Sydney Record fires are raging in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, with more than 2,500 fires currently burning. They are collectively emitting huge amounts of carbon, with smoke plumes visible thousands of kilometres away. Fires in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sean Docking, Post-doctoral researcher, La Trobe University Basketball fans around the world were recently sickened by the footage of NBA star Kevin Durant’s Achilles tendon rupturing during a game. But while many think it’s only elite athletes who suffer from Achilles tendon ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University The possibility of blackouts affecting half of Victoria has attracted plenty of attention to a document once read only by industry insiders and policy wonks: the Electricity Statement of Opportunities. The Statement, updated ...
George Clooney sold his tequila company for a billion dollars – but is the stuff any good? The Spinoff finds out. Imagine being so stupidly sexy you sneeze and sell a billion-dollar booze company. That’s what George Clooney did last year, flicking off the tequila business he started accidentally with an ...
The departure of "two Pākehā men" from the government's justice reform group will not hurt the quality of its final report, another member of the team says. ...
Combatting internet-related harm is being stymied by inter-industry disagreement and a lack of information about the extent and nature of the problem, a new report says. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, J.W. Nevile Fellow in Economics and host of The Airport Economist, UNSW Amid the tributes to former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer and the stories of his authenticity, courage and quirky interests – like trains and military history – what ...
Current leader of the National Party, Simon Bridges.Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Is Simon Bridges really trying to channel Donald Trump? Or is he taking his cue from Scott Morrison? Or is he looking to emulate Boris Johnson? Whatever the inspiration, there’s been a clear change in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]Michelle Grattan talks about the sad news of the passing of former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer with University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Deep Saini. They also discuss Scott Morrison’s recent announcement about joining ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabriel Crowley, Adjunct Principal Research Fellow, James Cook University In February, about 600,000 cattle were killed by catastrophic flooding across north Queensland’s Carpentaria Gulf plains. The flood waters rose suddenly, forming a wall of water up to 70km wide. Record depths were ...
Simon Day dined alone at Monique Fiso’s Wellington restaurant Hiakai, and discovered it was the perfect way to appreciate the meaning of this special food. “Would you like a few more minutes with your phone?” the waitress at Hiakai asked sympathetically as I mashed a final goodbye text to my wife ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Willamson, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Monash University Australia’s gender pay gap is diminishing, says a new report, but some contributors to it seem harder to overcome than others. For me, the finding hit close to home. The report, by KPMG for ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Te Tiriti o Waitangi: The Treaty of Waitangi by Toby Morris with Ross Calman, Mark Derby, and ...
Honey producer Comvita has confirmed a full year net loss of $27.7m with China market access restrictions and tougher regulations locally affecting the company's sales. ...
James Elliott realises John Tamihere's uncosted bridge proposal wasn't actually a metaphor, but a fine example of 'folks is mighty generous with money what they ain’t got'. ...
A new poem by Oamaru-born poet Nick Ascroft.SupermanHalfway up the ascent zigzagging from Royal Terrace to upper Stuart Street carrying four too-heavy grocery bags I begin to understand that I will not make it. My huffing personage – from the fingers, white with the strain, to a face the colour of rhubarb – will ooze into the pavement and roll slowly ...
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s.Sound the alarm, because it’s time for another absolute chaos pod. We’re talking haunted dolls in Waipu, we’re talking giant hands taking over Wellington, we’re talking soft serve cones dipped in powdered Milo. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Press, Adjunct Professor, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania This week, the ABC revealed that the Australian Defence Force wants to roll out military technology in Antarctica. The article raises the issue of what is, or is not, ...
New Zealand teacher aides say their pay reflects an outdated idea of what they do. Elizabeth McLeod hears from four TAs, and one parent, about the classroom realities they face every dayCleaning up poo, defusing violent situations, copping physical and verbal abuse: these are the realities of a teacher aide’s ...
The lanky sidekick from Jono and Ben journeys around New Zealand trying to solve small town problems. Does he succeed?Guy Williams, hardly a shy, retiring type, has been screaming out for his own vehicle for years. A loud, lanky, fearless comic, he’s spent nearly a decade in MediaWorks purgatory, sat ...
Ballot Box.Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – The nature of New Zealand general election campaigns could be significantly changed with the proposed establishment of an “umpire” to adjudicate over political party manifesto policies. A suggestion has been put forward by the Government for the establishment of a parliamentary watchdog ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Ihumātao Delphine Herbert and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Tainui to buy Ihumātao land – sources Danielle ...
Extinction Rebellion takes a tour of downtown Wellington to point out the coal industry stalwarts and ask why they’re still there in the face of a climate emergency. “There are coal companies in Wellington??”That’s the incredulous response every single time we mention taking the public on a tour of the biggest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel A. Ankeny, Professor of History and Philosophy, and Deputy Dean Research (Faculty of Arts), University of Adelaide The South Australian government recently announced its intention to lift the long-standing statewide moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops, following a statutory six-week consultation ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vicki Sentas, Senior Lecturer, UNSW Law, UNSW Being strip searched by the police can be intrusive, humiliating and harmful. Typically, strip searches involve being required to strip naked in front of police officers, who often give the direction to “squat and cough”, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Remond, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Hi, I was just wondering if something’s wrong with me because I’m never happy and never want to do anything and I’m getting really lazy and I really hate school. Thanks – Anonymous ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Zaphir, Researcher for the University of Queensland Critical Thinking Project; and Online Teacher at Education Queensland’s IMPACT Centre, The University of Queensland From as early as Grade 3 teachers start teaching children how to put across their own points of view. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW It’s four years since then Prime Minister Tony Abbott warned Australia had been heading to “a Greek-style economic future”. He was referring to what he said had been happening under the previous Labor government. When Labor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samia Khatun, Senior Lecturer, SOAS, University of London Some 1,000 kilometres inland from Sydney, over the Blue Mountains, past the trees that drink the tributaries of the Darling River, there stands a little, red mosque. It marks where the desert begins. The ...
Online gambling is growing fast in New Zealand, but critics say new government ideas for regulating websites focus on what's good for the industry, rather than protecting people from harm. ...
Open mike 08/02/2012 
. . Former Police, Corrections, and Justice Minister in the previous John Key government, Judith Collins, has been ridiculed on social media after posting a comment on Twitter that was patently untrue; . Wrong!! National did not remove Prisoners’ ability to vote. Parliament voted through a Private Member’s Bill ...7 hours ago
Speaker Trevor Mallard was left to look after Jones, while his usual caretaker, Winston Peters, underwent surgery. A truly adorable scene from Parliament yesterday has gone viral, after Speaker Trevor Mallard cradled an extremely drunk Shane Jones in his arms while the House was in session. Loud “awwww”s could be ...21 hours ago
Western media have defended their decision not to cover the fires so as not to give them any oxygen. Social media outrage continues to grow around the sentiment that mainstream western media is devoting too little coverage to an ongoing series of fires in the Amazon rainforest, and in doing ...22 hours ago
A Long Time Ago, In A Parallel Universe Far, Far Away: The political journalist scratched his head in confusion. Only then did he notice the name of the building: ‘The Jacinda Ardern Presidential Library and Public Resource Centre’. Making his way inside to the information desk, he asked the librarian ...1 day ago
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Nothing from me tody - I'm off to Christchurch to pretend to be other people for a weekend. Normal bloggage should resume on Tuesday. ...1 day ago
Spark is bracing for a customer backlash as rugby fans all across the country struggle to get a picture on their wireless router. With the Rugby World Cup fast approaching, an elderly Taranaki couple are furious after being told that they still won’t be able to watch the tournament, even ...2 days ago
Several explosions have been reported across Auckland, as well-meaning environmentalists have already begun purchasing too much petrol Starting from next week, customers will no longer need a car to purchase petrol directly from the pump, a development that two major fuel providers are billing as an opportunity to help fight ...2 days ago
A new study claims to find that a mother’s exposure to fluoridated water during pregnancy may decrease the IQ of male children – but is it correct? (Photo: Getty Images) Anti-fluoride campaigners are promoting ... 2 days ago
Television advertising has a huge impact on our lives. Even if we don’t recognise that, we know it has to be true, since otherwise why would advertisers spend so much on it? Its significance, however, is greater than simply the influence it has on what we purchase and consume. It ...3 days ago
by Jan Rivers More than 30 years ago a Commission of Inquiry was held in New Zealand to investigate, amongst other things, whether women with cervical cancer were aware that they had been part of a research project and whether they were properly informed of the treatment options ...4 days ago
Everyone Wants To Be Fuhrer: When fascist groups are discussed, the image conjured-up in the minds of most New Zealanders is one of pathetic misfits. This negative impression is reinforced by the latter’s idiotic embrace of the swastika. Even in the second decade of the twenty-first century, the baleful legacy ...4 days ago
In the previous two posts, I laid out the context and set the theoretical framework to answer a question: whether indigenous economies should take the LEAP. This final part outlines ways to conceive of practicing mana motuhake within the existing legal system by carving out special jurisdictions that enable Indigenous ...6 days ago
Fully Informed? Labour’s 2017 promises raised expectations that were little short of revolutionary. Unfortunately, they were never adequately shaken through the fiscal sieve. The hard economic work was not done – and it shows. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s critics have long complained that her grasp of the way the New ...6 days ago
You cannot expect to pound communities into the ground day after day, year after year, decade after decade and just expect them to take it lying down. There’s a point at which the place will explode. And we’re faced with some very big ructions on both sides of the Atlantic ...1 week ago
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Going Down? Once truth and propaganda become fused in the minds of one’s followers, debate and discussion become redundant. If one’s opponents are all outrageous liars, then engaging with them in any way is pointless. Rather than waste its time, a political party should, instead, target all its messages at ...1 week ago
We need to fundamentally reframe our systems settings to address the drivers causing and underpinning inequality; structural change in systems especially financial. The Equality Network Hui was held in Wellington on 27 June 2019. The hui covered important topics such as child poverty; a living wage; taxation; public health; mental ...1 week ago
The views-per-page for some of my recent postings:Depressing, isn't it? Provide thoughtful and wise commentary on the mainstream of British politics and no-one notices. Make a passing reference to Tommy DICKHEAD Robinson in a thread title and you get hundreds of views. Write something about anti-Semitism and you get another ...1 week ago
The government has announced plans to move the Treaty of Waitangi and other taonga to a new site. Great news! So where are they going? Right next to the old one:The new plan will see a new 22,000-square-metre archive built on the former site of Defence House - the former ...1 week ago
Back in June, StatsNZ went public about a project to track population data on an hourly level by using people's cellphones. It wasn't as bad as it initially looked - they were receiving no individual data, only counts by suburb - but there was still a huge consent problem, so ...1 week ago
I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...1 week ago
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ... 1 week ago
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...2 weeks ago
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...2 weeks ago
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...2 weeks ago
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...2 weeks ago
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Anyone told Steven Joyce can’t is an anagram of NACT?
+1
I think everyone needs to stop using NAct to be honest. It just perpetuates the myth that Act is still a real party.
I think it emphasizes that National is just the pretty store front to Act.
You’re using the word “pretty” fairly creatively there Lanth 🙂 🙂
Be more appropriate if they were the “union of consumers & taxpayers”. Just saying.
That’s what United Future is for.
This is bound to cause comment. The Daily Mail recently ran an article confirming what many already know, that right wingers are less intelligent than left wingers. After the article there is 1,001 comments offering further evidence that this proposition is, without doubt, correct.
The original report states:
“In psychological terms, the relation between intelligence and prejudice may stem from the propensity of individuals with lower cognitive ability to endorse more right wing conservative ideologies because such ideologies offer a psychological sense of stability and order.”
In simple terms a right winger responds to a new situation with fear while a lefty responds with curiosity.
The Daily Mail dissing its own audience by running that report almost proves the point.
+1
This is a bit of an oversimplification. There are two basic types of right winger, and this article only deals with one of them.
I’ve always thought that the problem with righties isn’t that they are dumb, it’s that they are selfish. The right wing philosophy is built on the idea of taking care of yourself and your own, and refusing to accept any responsibility for anyone else. A whole bunch of people all trying to make themselves into islands, in other words.
There’s the (usually) rich intelligent right wingers, who know exactly what they are doing – i.e. trying to set everything up in their favour so they get all the rewards, and then making sure they don’t have to share them with anyone else. They are not dumb, they’re just selfish and proud of it.
Then there’s the (usually) poor and dumb righties who can’t ever aspire to have the wealth of their counterparts, but like the disregard for others that characterises the right wing when this is directed at groups of people they dislike (anyone who’s not like them).
Lefties are the types who recognise that we are all interconnected, and what affects your neighbours affects you. It’s a complex system of feedback and you can’t cut yourself off from everyone else no matter how hard you try.
The dumb righties are too stupid to recognise that, and the smart ones are in denial about anything could ruin their pure vision of themselves as the centre of their own universe.
Thanks Blue.
George Monbiot says something similar. To quote:
So there are various sectors amongst right supporters but the message is being dumbed down to appeal to one sector only. The rest just nod and wink and enjoy the benefits.
Just to show I am an equal opportunity stirrer Monbiot also questions why in the face of such stupidity the left do not do better. In particular:
Thought provoking. And to a larger extent, accurate I’d say.
Cheap oil Easy credit selects for selfish intelligent rightwing.
Expensive energy hard credit selects for selfish intelligent rightwing.
Changing times selects for selfish intelligent left wings.
???
the left creating order and certainty means they lay foundations for convervatists.
My observation is that it isnt so much a left / right wing split in intelligence but relates to your view on religion
Those that are heavily religious are generally (but not always) of low intelligence…
Conservatives – particularly in the USA are generally religious and are classified in the ‘right’ bucket in the study hence causing the relationship
Also the following quotes in another article on the same study (link below) are interesting:
“So a smart person (all else being equal) will probably be in favour of capitalism generally, and free-trade in particular. He or she will distrust state intervention in the markets, probably be suspicious of welfarism and deeply dislike protectionism, union closed-shops and tariffs. The smart person will believe that the have-nots should be encouraged to become haves by dint of their own labours and by the levelling of economic playing fields, NOT by taking money off the haves and giving it to them.” – In simple terms – for capitalism = smart, against it = dumb(er)
“This matches other findings that show that IQ correlates not with left-wing thinking as such, but with classic Enlightenment liberalism.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2097652/Does-low-IQ-make-right-wing-That-depends-define-left-right.html#ixzz1lkaFTuRZ
[lprent: Why change emails and handles (including capitalization) all of the time? This is the 4th or 5th change since November. It just means that a moderator has to go to the effort of releasing you from first time moderation each time it happens. It is a lot of effort for us to go to checking that you aren’t banned and aren’t someone trying to hijack your identity because you can’t remember a e-mail and how to spell a name. Please settle on one and stick to it before we stop releasing them. ]
Understood – my details dont seem to save therefore have to re-enter them hence change handle as the mood dictates….didnt appreciate it caused a hassle on yourside – apologies
The details are stored in cookies on your systems. They get sent to the server when you pick up a page so the details can be auto filled in. If you have set it to not take cookies at your browser then that would be the cause. It could also be oneof the more irritating Internet security systems.
If that isn’t intentional, then my usual advise is to simply use a different browser. Some of them (Internet explorer) are just a pain in the arse. Currently google chrome or Firefox are pretty good and available on most platforms.
I’m running an IQ of around 140. I used to be right-wing but then I looked at the facts, considered the theory and it’s assumptions, realised that the free-market was complete BS and became a radical lefty.
What makes someone right-wing is a complete denial of reality either because it doesn’t suit their selfishness or because they’re stupid.
Probably being a bit harsh there DTB. Many people are simply ill informed.
The deliberate propaganda program by the right and there wholly owned media means that people have to dig deep to get unbiased information.
That’s complete and utter nonsense. It may make you feel superior, but any proof you provide (and I see that you don’t actually provide any) will probably amount to a link to Sir Lord Herr Professor Dawkins and his ‘Brights”. Meaningless.
As is that. There’s no proof that conservatives are generally religious – even in the USA, although many of them certainly claim that they are..
Please note that educated people don’t use smart and dumb as synonyms for clever and stupid. Using dumb = stupid, is a juvenile insult against those with communication disabilities.
Proof for my statement re a link between IQ and religion (or at least supporting evidence) was in my link. I have re pasted below. I should have included in my post…apologies
“Other studies have found correlations between strong religiosity (a traditional marker of conservatism) and low intelligence”
And my statement that a large component of the right wing conservative / tea party / republican movement in the US is highly religious isn’t one I thought would need me to provide supporting evidence for.
Given the aggressive nature of your response I take you believe in a higher power!
Cheers
PP
That doesn’t compute… I would love to know why you associate aggression with religion! Have you had bad experiences with religious people, maybe?
Right… having sorted out your grammar, no, I still don’t agree – because you seem to have ignored the bit where I said that they claim to be highly religious. Someone will leap in and scream “No true Scotsman fallacy’ at me, but whether you/they like it or not, true Christians/Muslims would never have a bar of tea party prejudice and war-mongering.
Oh, and where’s your link? I can’t see it…
Bwahahahahahahaha snort hahahahahahahaha guffaw snort hahahahahahahahahaha snort snort hahaha… Troubles in Northern Ireland hahahahahahah The Crusades hahahahaha The Inquisition hahahahahaha snort the Moorish and Ottoman invasions hahahahahahahahahaha the Albigensian Crusade hahaha…. The Massacre of the Huguenots hahahaha… Shall I go on? What are your meds? I want some….
Clopidogrel and Lipitor (Atorvastatin)… sure you want some?
Yours is a pretty silly answer really. For every (allegedly) religious war you can name, I can name 3 that have no (allegedly) religious motivation. It seems to me that many atheists are black and white thinkers, subtleties escape them – but even Sir Lord Herr Professor Dawkins and his fanbois have been known to admit that they know perfectly well that The Troubles (for instance) are political, with a gloss of religion to provide ‘respectability’…
And that political division is based on…… What?
Wtf exactly do failures in drug testing do to drug companies being myopically focused on profit have to do with braindead ideological excuses for conflict?
And every time this subject (and reproductive rights) comes up your brain goes to custard and you make downright stupid arguments in amongst the occasionally smart ones.
As for the “black n white” quip, repeat after me, “the plural of anecdotes is not data”. Also, how the fuck is empiricism black and white thinking, when the supporting arguments involves multiple lines of philosophical inquiring, including teh always perturbing natures of inference?
@Populuxe1
/fractal-facepalm
Stat’s indicate that overall IQ scores show no statistically significant difference between atheists/religious, it’s only when looking at various sects that statistically significant differences appear. Predominantly with charismatic and/or conservative evangelical sects.
Which you’d already know if you read the fucking research.
Snap.. I get off the Clopidogrel in a few weeks. Also have heart shaped aspirins and Betaloc
Doesn’t sound mind bending to me.
@Vicky
Apologies for my first sentence, I’m still getting over some mild food poisoning and after work was rather brainless for a while on top of feeling crap-ish.
Better face palm again NickS – at no time did I make such an assertion. I was commenting on Vicky’s rather rose-tinted view of Christian history
Which you would know if you read the fucking post
I misread the above from you 😛
Anyhow, I’m sick so 😛
Hmm, don’t know about that. I’m pretty much a 6th level atheist but I’ve met some profoundly smart people who are profoundly religious.
Perhaps I hang out in the wrong circles, but I don’t think we in NZ have large numbers of the sort of fundies that the U.S. does – with a few notable exceptions obviously.
Listening to the U.S tea-party types it can be very hard to tell where nationalism ends and religion begins. I get the impression they’d consider it unpatriotic to not identify as religious. Religious kiwis by and large don’t fall for that sort of conflation of church and country.
Sure we have God’s name in the anthem and we throw around platitudes like “godzone” a lot more than I’d like, but religious kiwis don’t tend suffer from the delusion that god has somehow charged our nation with a special mission on earth.
Saying you’re religious in NZ may mean something quite different to saying it in parts of the U.S. where it often seems to be used as a sort of shorthand for being fond of democracy, freedom, and the American way of life.
I also have to agree with Vicky about people in power claiming to be religious for political reasons. This is another road we haven’t gone down in NZ where even our highest level politicians can say they’re religious or a bit religious or not religious at all (varying from day-to-day in John Key’s case) and no-one really cares too much one way or the other.
I think what these cultural differences mean is that studies of religious belief in the U.S. aren’t going to translate very well to this part of the world. Of course we have plenty of stupid people here, but our munters are just munters. They don’t generally wrap themselves in religion to be accepted by the herd – probably quite the reverse if anything.
Personally I don’t think there’s anything particularly smart about ignoring the spiritual side of life either. In fact I think only a fool would, atheist and all.
I think there’s a 3rd group: those who are simply so out of touch with society and how other people live that they don’t realise they’re being selfish. They simply have no conception of what it is like to be disadvantaged and therefore instead of having compassion for someone on a benefit, they see them as a bludger with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
That’s the goverment in a nutshell, well put.
Not quite. Old fashioned wet conservatives are very community (and often conservation) minded. They look after friends, family and local communities very well. But they have no time for bludgers, slackers and lay abouts. These old fashioned Tories are quite different from neolib NATs.
In other news, studies show that people who run around in the rain get wet 😉
It’s so self-evident it’s hilarious to think that it needs to be studied. I mean that’s essentially the definition of conservatism – reluctance to change, dislike of the other, antipathy to progression, fear of the unknown.
It seems to me that many who self-identify as “conservative” – especially at an early age, the sort of panty-sniffers and thumb-suckers you find in the young nats for example – seem to have never examined exactly what it is they’re identifying as. It’s more like a club they join that offers the security of never having to examine themselves (or anything else) too closely for comfort.
And understandable if so. Imagine the cognitive dissonance that would arise from actually admitting to yourself that you think things are as good as they’ll ever be and we’d best just stop now, um actually let’s go back a bit just to be sure.
In fact it’s to their advantage to be a bit thick if they want to hold fast to their thick beliefs, because a smarter person simply couldn’t do it. The best a smart conservative can hope for is a double life where inwardly s/he understands the absurdity of it all but publicly puts on a thick face to avoid confrontation, both internal and within the peer group.
Awful really. Some of your Nat friends really are this twisted, grinning smugly to the world while cowering behind the eyes.
And some of them are just thick.
Morning everyone!
+1
In a nutshell, Felix.
Here’s the link to the journal and abstract of the article (for those interested).
Catch is, as Monbiot alludes, what does it say about the eft, in retreat around the globe?
Haven’t had a chance to read, but Monbiot claimed the comments that ensued further proved the point…
Ever wondered why Putin is so popular? It turns out he pays big time for the support, channelling thousands to pet bloggers and trained trolls who churn out pro-Putin comments by the Lada load. Of course, that could never happen in NZ.
I would have thought he was popular because Russians dont want to have Medvedev sell their country out to the Anglo Americans…..further!
Note the calls over the vote “irregularities” by Hillary and co, does nothing but indicate the effort to destabilize Russia.
Couldn’t imagine why!
So what does the cuddling up to Syria mean then?
So what does the cuddling up to Syria mean then?
UK news is saying it’s because Syria host Russia’s only all-weather, warm water, port.
Seems a bit simplistic, but there you go.
That’s like saying people liked Kermit the Frog because they were suspicious of Jim Henson. A surprising majority of ordinary Russians actually do like his dark majesty Putin for all his faults because they crave security and stability – something they haven’t really known since the Tsars. It might look dodgy from the outside, but it’s a very Russian worldview.
They didn’t have it then either hence the revolutions.
Perhaps, but the misery, starvation and neglect of serfdom was at least something predictable they understood. I don’t think they had much choice in the matter of the revolutions – most of them didn’t understand the difference between Menshiviks, Bolsheviks and what have you – all they knew is that you agreed with whatever whoever was pointing the guns at you was telling you. The Russian people have always been stuck between someone’s rock and someone else’s hard place.
Interesting but I am in Berlin at a conference which includes about 10 Russian engineers and Russian politics is always a good topic.
Turns out Putin is liked because he stands up to the Mafia which otherwise would run the country. Already, it is cheaper to borrow money rom the mafia than the banks.
Putin is actually the hero of the workers and he plays to that…..
Considering that most of the people pointing guns at them were the Tsars’ men your statement makes no sense.
Ah Draco, methinks you need a refresher course on the history of the Revolution.
So I’m concurring. I reckon he saw it coming at the very least:
http://nowoccupy.blogspot.com/2012/02/face-off.html
Concurring with what?
Don’t expect us to follow your spammy links.
+1. I don’t follow links unless I get an explanation of what it includes, and an explanation that shows why I should be interested.
She’s trying to suck up to authors/audience at TheStandard to drag some more hits her way, is all.
She basically just agrees with Eddie’s theory that National is deliberately getting the MP angry over S9 and the SOE assets as a ploy for the 2014 election.
I mentioned this theory to my bf, he thought it sounded reasonable on the face of it, but pointed out that National most likely already has all of the redneck votes anyway. Getting maori offside is more likely to erode their soft center-left vote and send them back leftwards.
That other United Future troll Pete George does the same thing with his link, but at least he gives a headline summary. Could it be an official UF policy to post in this way?
Also your boyfriend may well be right about Nat having most of the redneck votes now, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need shoring up. It might just indicate that the Nats anticipate pissing large amounts of them off over other issues this term.
There are that 2.5% that went to the conservatives, plus probably a few percent or so that went to NZF. Act is a sock puppet
In a rush this morning – I was referring back to Eddies post on John Key and either stirring up or having foreknowledge of the s9 treaty clause issue.I’m interested in the truth. I tend to post on anything where I can smell bullshit as an independent blogger.
Then go to Eddie’s post and comment on it ffs.
This isn’t a free billboard for you to advertise your bullshit on.
An independent blogger, not a partisan blogger?
I thought you guys were interested in the free flow of information? Turning on people who post here isn’t exactly going to promote that is it?
[lprent: You probably need to read the policy.
That is followed by a whole pile of do nots. But “robust debate” means that participants can expect others to attack ideas, sources of information, attitudes, and philosophies without the moderators considering that is worth their effort to intervene. We assume most commentators can defend themselves otherwise they wouldn’t be here.
Moderators will tend to intervene if it descends into pointless abuse, flame wars, or just looks too much like a deliberate bully session. It does get pretty tough getting agreement. The standing joke is that most of the time you only get to a agree to disagree basis – but at least others will know of the other viewpoints. Sometimes you will observe attitude changes in other later…
You can usually raise a moderator by framing something that looks like a request of clarification or an interpretation of the bounds (like you just did) or doing a don’t. Of course moderators only run roughly the same policies, so it pays not to stray too close to the edges (not that you have so far) in case you get IrishBill with a hangover. ]
Do whatever you like that is within the rules.
Similarly we will tell you what we think of what you’re doing. In this case, we don’t think much of it at all. That’s never stopped Pete George though.
Big smile on my face! Where is PG? tell me he has been struck off the list, or is he scrubbing the hair’s curling tongs?
[lprent: He caught a 4 week vacation for attacking a author rather the contents of their post. Philu has been speaking up in his defense and against the evil moderation system. 😈
I have been trying to figure out how he triggers the spam trap sometimes and not on others. It is pretty weird. ]
Last time I looked he was over on Red Alert instead driving them up the wall with his infantile thought processes. CV followed him over for a while and did him over. My advice is stay away from RA for another couple of weeks at least.
Sometimes sacrifice in the line of duty must be made 😛
And, wouldn’t you know it, progressive taxation is good for you.
Thanks for the policy link.
Monique, there are reply buttons below each comment, not just in the box at the bottom of the page. Can you please use them rather than comment anew each time? It helps to keep alive that vital free flow of communication! Thanks.
And once more Family First (aka Bob McCroskrie’s Boner) has vomited forth a study, with an author known for cherry picking and “traditional” values:
http://www.badscience.net/category/aric-sigman/
Yay.
Bonus points for patriarchal bullshit too with the “full-time mother” claim, because males so can’t be a full-time parent/bring home teh bacon…
QT 8/2/12
Another 12 -0 drubbing.
Surely the opposition parties can do better than this.
lol, you don’t get a point just for forming an answer. The points are for what’s revealed or concealed.
I can just see you sitting by the radio with that idiot grin on your face yelling “YUSSS, HE KNEW THE ANSWER!”
You so funny.
Sign petition in support of President Nasheed
http://act.350.org/sign/help_nasheed/?akid=1576.520389.1bbm8r&rd=1&t=2
To the best of my knowledge, it’s about allegiance to and a desire to be associated with Britain, as against those who wanted nothing to do with Britain. I may well have got that wrong, I am going by what my son who studied all this at school (he’s an atheist BTW) told me he learned. We’re Scots, and I don’t care about Ireland.
A timely quote from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (today was his 200th birthday):
Are polling companies allowed to use the electoral roll for recruiting subjects?
The reason I ask is that I was called by ‘Curia’ for one of their political polls and after I put the phone down I realised the poller had asked for me by Christian and Surname, and I’m only listed in the phone book by initials.
It seems an awful lot of trouble to got to – electoral roll and then the phone book. And it seemed to violate the anonymity, knowing exactly who you are and where you live. In previous non-curia polls the caller asked for a demographic, not a particular person.
It was an interesting poll.
interesting – if curia was using the electronic electoral roll for commercial purposes, that would be illegal.
i’m sure farrar would have an electronic roll for his national party work, but commercial use of the roll must be confined to the publicly available hardcopies.
Yeah, I thought there were restrictions on using the electoral roll. And I can’t imagine how else they could know my christian name. Where would I get more info on the correct use of the electoral roll?
from the electoral commission. call them and explain your concerns
Why the distinction between the electronic and hardcopy versions, sprout?
Surely they contain the same info and pose exactly the same privacy concerns.
And how would you ever prove which was used anyway?
much harder to use the hardcopy for mass spamming and other commercial enterprises
yes same info (almost, the e ver is richer) and same concerns, but when limited to hardcopy it’s much much harder to exploit those millions of records. there are bound to be lots of sound reasons why the roll needs to be made public, but limiting access to the e version helps to slow down its misuse.
not easy to prove, that’s why the electoral commission are very picky about who they allow access to the electronic version. if they were to discover provable commercial use of the e version, they’d prosecute with considerable prejudice. if they had sufficient reason they might be able to get a search warrant executed.
Complaint emailed to the electoral commission.
Btw it was obviously the National Party that commissioned the poll.
It may be hard to prove, but can you think of another way that pollsters based in Auckland or Wellington would know the christian name of a random participant in the provinces?
edit just checked caller display – Wgton number.
I’m in the mainland.
Shaky in the south tonight 🙁
4.3 and 4.2 close to lyttelton
no fun
http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/recent_quakes.html
they are heading in my direction. may as well stay up all night now.
not much good for the nerves 🙁
Three months for me… I am on it while they attempt to diagnose without the aid of a Tardis, what happened in the ‘incident’… 😀
Nick S, apology accepted. 🙂 I hope you’re better now, food poisoning is awful!