Mike Feinberg from KIPP (Knowledge is Power Programme) is coming to New Zealand next week to promote charter schools for the ACT/National government. KIPP provides a hideous caricature of quality edcuation for kids from low-income communities in the US. Here is a snippet from a KIPP school which gives the flavour of what goes on provided by education researcher Howard Berlak after a recent visit to a KIPP school in San Francisco:
“When I was there children who followed all the rules were given points that could be exchanged for goodies at the school store. Those who resisted the rules or were slackers wore a large sign pinned to their clothes labeled “miscreant.” Miscreants sat apart from the others at all times including lunch, were denied recess and participation in all other school projects and events.
. . . . I’ve spent many years in schools. This one felt like a humane, low security prison or something resembling a locked-down drug rehab program for adolescents run on reward and punishments by well meaning people. Maybe a case can be made for such places, but I cannot imagine anyone (including the Times reporter) sending their kids there unless they have no other acceptable options. What is most disturbing is the apparent universal belief by KIPP staff and partisans that standardized tests scores are the singular and most important measure of a truly good education. ”
Remember this when you hear Feinberg the glossy salesman..
Thanks for that Tony. Of course some Nz teachers use a punishment/reward system though they don’t call it “punishment” but call it “consequences.” (Heard of Benching?) Not as extreme as the indefensible KIPP system of course.
“When I was there children who followed all the rules were given points that could be exchanged for goodies at the school store. Those who resisted the rules or were slackers wore a large sign pinned to their clothes labeled “miscreant.” Miscreants sat apart from the others at all times including lunch, were denied recess and participation in all other school projects and events.
run on reward and punishments by well meaning people. Earlier this week I mentioned the nasty authoritarian streak we have in this country: given the “poor are responsible for their own state” attitudes Feinberg will get a ready audience.
I had the misfortune this week (it was the only station the car radio would pick up whilst driving round Auckland) to listen to 15 minutes of Leighton (?dont know his name but “the Excrable” will do) rant about how we need to take responsibility and kill people who don’t have warrants and rego. FFS. To that we are reduced.
No. “Kill” is my metaphor for his desire to punish, he did say words to the effect of confiscate cars, fine $000s dollars etc. The whole thing centred on Leightons desire to make the citizen take “responsibility” whatever that means, and rather than being persuaded and enabled to do so the citizen was to be whipped into compliance. All very misanthropic and coercive.
Got into a major argument last night with a loved one who was regurgitating the talk-back hate-speech that she listens to practically all the time, and quoting from Ian frakking Wishart’s latest nasty, ignorant mixture of untruths and spin.
Probably shouldn’t have in the circumstances, but it’s not just talk but a means of aggression against targetted scapegoats, and I can’t always stay cool in the face of it.
Personal responsibility. The new metric of the right. Despite the recent
Law series on TV7 that clearly made the case against arguments of virtue.
The problem is the turd blossom. Which is a two step, any lie must be
two lies facing each other off.
Romney would not be as rich and as successful were it not for the
structure and nature of the peoples of the USA, so he makes out like a
Randian superhero that he never had to take no frigging handouts….
…then he shouts out that the other 50% are losers needing the
government. Exactly how long would Romney last in Haiti?
Yesterday in the welfare debate, a government MP declared that
the reforms to welfare will reduce criminality. Well actually he
said more like welfare reforms would do away with fraud.
The two lies, one that there is fraud, not the lapse in personal
responsibility of welfare recipients too many that is fraudulent,
and that the reforms which would see more lose entitlements
(like ACC model) would not create more crime and more costs on
the state from illhealth, etc.
Look I’m the first person who would welcome the goal of helping
people into work, but that’s not what the welfare reforms do, their
purpose is to lower the short-term costs of welfare, and raise them
in the medium to long term (when Key has left power).
Why do they hate so much? Why does Romney low America but
hate most Americans? Why does Key hate our grandkids, why
are we bequeathing the coming generations with a resource crisis,
climate crisis, social and debt crisises????
Personal responsibility is a core part of the NZ psyche. The only difference the Left needs to deliver is a social and economic environment where taking personal responsibility delivers substantial rewards.
100,000 NZers would start work on Monday if there were $15/hr jobs available. Its our failure as a society that they aren’t.
There’s plenty of work which desperately needs to be done in our community. But our current economic structures means fuck all of that work can be structured as paid jobs.
There’s plenty of work which desperately needs to be done in our community. But our current economic structures means fuck all of that work can be structured as paid jobs.
Our current structures means that things only get done if an owner is making a profit from someone else’s work. If that’s not happening then it doesn’t get done.
Psychological projection or projection bias is a psychological defense mechanism where a person subconsciously denies his or her own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, usually to other people. Thus, projection involves imagining or projecting the belief that others originate those feelings.
They probably don’t even realise that they’re projecting their own failings onto others.
The “hate” is twinned with “fear”… they hate so much because there’s so much they’re afraid of. The system peddles fear and hate for control… dense emotions that are easy to tap the group conscious into. “Fight or flight” and by the time TPTB have bashed your life around the block a few times… many have no fight left.
Radio New Zealand is reporting that NZ was one of only two countries to vote against protection measures (banning gill and trawling nets) for the endangered Maui Dolphin. Although the vote was confidential the New Zealand DOC representative apparently announced that they were under instructions from the Ministry of Primary Industries to oppose the proposal.
Mauis dolphins are iconic in New Zealand and are facing extinction. It seems the Government does not care.
When you add this to the recent cabinet decision to oppose antarctic protection proposed by the US you get the feeling of a regime that it belligerently opposed to environmental measures just because profitability may be affected.
Neil Abel describes Joyce, Carter and Brownlee as “the dark heart of the anti-environment policy.”
In a telling passage he states
“There is a spirit of anti-environmental policy in our present administration which is centred on an interpretation of economics that has lead to the mine, drill, frack, cut, sell, build-a-road-through-it and ‘let the devil take the hindmost’ strategies that are the extent of our Government’s development inspiration in nearly four years of power.
An economy that relies on the steady degradation, destruction and using-up of its natural resources cannot by definition bring lasting human prosperity. ”
The reserve bank has gone back wards on inflation control ( returning to the outmoded 2% target .our dollar will now remain higher than need the money speculators will have a field day as they already are we are one of the few dumb arse countries that don’t play the devaluation game the speculators know this so its easy money for them.
Also of concern is the change in culture at DOC in the last decade. There are still many good people working in DOC, but there is now an ingrained institutional problem, where conservation is segmented, and often takes second place to supposed economic priorities. I’m not sure how many people realise the shift that has happened.
Why is DOC taking instructions from the Ministry of Primary Industries?
Its environmental fraud by parliamentarians, when they degrade the future environment
for short term profits for a few private companies. Their lack of concern is a fraud
on the people of NZ who lose environmental wealth, future prosperity from tourism
and natural wealth (clean water, biodiversity)….
We are living through an age now typified by massive environmental fraud.
I have this song running in my head EVERY time I hear about the lack of environmental accountablity by this government: Midnight Oil put it nicely…
The tucker box is empty now
The heart of Kelly’s country cleared
The gangers on the southern line
Like the steam trains have disappeared
Pelicans glide
Miracles up in the skies
We vote for a government
With axes in it’s eyes
Mountains of Burma
The road to Mandalay
In the mountains of Burma
Light years away
Mountains of Burma
Will the sons of Solidarity
Still march on May Day ?
Will the sisters of the seventies
Still fight for equal pay
There’s no-one on the Reeperbahn
No more blankets handed out for land
We feed an economy
It’s got blood on it’s hands
Mountains of Burma
The road to Mandalay
Mountains of Burma
Light years away
In the mountains of Burma
The road to Mandalay
In the mountains of Burma
Hope you’re light years away
Pack your bags full of guns and ammunition
Bills fall due for the industrial revolution
Scorch the earth till the earth surrenders
Soldiers of armies
Storm empty fields
In a traveller’s trance
On the way to the high frontier
Sleepwalkers stumble
Cable cars run aground
Imaginary enemies
Form high above the clouds
It may be about the lucky country, but it is just as applicable here.
Mauis dolphins are iconic in New Zealand and are facing extinction. It seems the Government does not care.
This government doesn’t care about the environment or, indeed, life itself – they only care about getting more money for themselves and their rich mates.
An economy that relies on the steady degradation, destruction and using-up of its natural resources cannot by definition bring lasting human prosperity.
No respect for life, it will be a loss to NZ, and our souls.
They are beautiful creatures who understand, “All for one M8”.
And I will miss them if they go.
Serco – the company currently running one NZ prison in a PPP and contracted to do the same in the new prison being built in South Auckland, currently under scrutiny in the UK for falsifying data in relation to a contract for after hours medical treatment:
PROTEST AGAINST US SECRETARY OF DEFENCE LEON PANETTA!
TODAY! FRIDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2012
1 – 3PM
OUTSIDE GRAFTON RD ENTRANCE TO AUCKLAND DOMAIN (WAR MEMORIAL)
(ALONG FROM AK HOSPITAL ENTRANCE)
AT 2.45PM US SECRETARY OF DEFENCE LEON PANETTA WILL BE LAYING A WREATH INSIDE AT THE AUCKLAND HALL OF MEMORIES!
If YOU are opposed to this John Key National/ACT Government cosying up to the USA – BE THERE! (If you can!)
(Media have been alerted)
Penny Bright
[lprent: It might have to do with the capitals and repeated explanation marks. I know that when I see them my immediate response is to throttle the noise. I’m sure that if I were coding facebook, I’d get a bit of code to do it for me. ]
I suspect the wreath laying is not centre stage and that the main PR exercise is the powhiri & meeting at Government House with Coleman.
Key, in fact doesn’t meet up with Panetta until tomorrow for a barbecue lunch. How big a media event that barbecue is going to be I couldn’t say.
No doubt, America enjoys being referred to as No. 1.
As for terroism, perhaps your susceptible to the theory (which I’ve just made up) that the deliberate sinking of the Lexington (one of the missing carriers from Pearl Harbour) by a US destroyer 900 km NE of Rockhampton, was a “false flag” operation designed to inflame anti-Japanese sentiment in Australia & NZ. This then paved the way for the arrival of the 1st Marine division in NZ 3 months later.
(The marines then went on to Guadalcanal, & this being the 70th anniversary of that campaign, nicely brings us back to the wreath laying)
So, what’s your preference for the future?
Cut diplomatic ties?
Cut trade?
Ban American film & TV? (please exempt “Breaking Bad”)
Hi Penny. The post is up on fb. On the Stuff.co.nz fb page there is a ‘posts by others’ button. This takes you to a separate display of posts. There is also a ‘post by friends button’ More separstist behaviour in the media.
the lunartic is Off the grass( one week, researchers, and unsettling)
Corrections staff are identifying less staff ratio/increased physical and sexual assaults in Serco prisons.
“supported living” is preferable to in-valid; yet still more freakin labels upon people
Kapiti local bodies requesting Booze Barn be a “responsible’ corporate citizen;”oxymoron”.
(what is it about this government that they desire to keep facilitating the pouring of ethanol down our young people’s throats, clouding their brains and setting them up for failures and damage?)
let us not take our eyes of that which is above us-Fermi paradox (thanks DtB, had forgotten that one)
(He is everywhere and everything to me-Third Day,Öfferings)
-follow another human and u will only see their shadows on the cave wall
now, Kapital is ‘flying’ out of France (surprise, surprise) and yet the tax reforms only affect 1000’s
along with increasing suggestions of the challenges for demokracy by free speech
yet is speech free when cliches, platitudes and populist jingos etc are resorted thru?
Wittgenstein (in 90 minutes with a cup-a-tea)
I am about to commence “The Great Partnership”-Jonathan Sacks
after that? “Changing the World Through Kindness”
(gotta brace myself for the Anatomy of Human Destructiveness-Erich Fromm)
is it just a blog? may be a distributed mind..now,… there are a whole-lotta-thoughts Rosie
re telegraphing punches? Politics Is a dirty business (soiled) seeds fall where the may,
some on the path, some amongst rocky places, some amongst the thorns,
yet,
many fall on good soil (just saying)
-many of the “cats” have softened their look, yet cats still claw and bite
however, our glorious leader is still poncing about like some thing from The Great Gatsby/Vile Bodies
“When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice” Act 16:19
-years ago, when i was in treatment, WINZ staff acknowledged even then, that many people in New Zealand Aotearoa (thats one of my tells) would require supplementary redistributed income to flesh out what they earned through employment
The idiot editor is clearly basing her assumption that beneficiaries won’t be bashed by the government’s repressive welfare policy changes on nothing more than her own ivory tower ignorance…
Couldn’t agree more, I subscribed to the Listener for more than 30 years, gave it up prior to the 2008 election when it became overloaded with right wing apologists.
Bit harsh Dr T, it still has some good stuff that it probably copy’s paste’s from better outlets but it defenitely took a right turn politically some years ago with NACT spinsters like Billie (how to break a working engine) Ralston and Jane (you have diplomatic immunity) Clifton.
Most publications serving their masters interests did..
Anyone done some objective analysis on the publications the NZX swallowed up under Mr Smarmy boy Weldon’s watch to see if tone/direction has altered…..they were mainly rural publications that had some anti Fonterra listing angles at times… funny that.
You do realize that the Council OK’d the POAL policy to kick the Union workers in the guts captain hook? Any pretext of caring that Len Brown showed when it became apparent in the media that POAL are a bunch of nasty bastards was simply grandstanding. The mayor will do nothing!
He can’t bud, it’d be shareholder vote stuff, not a singular individuals’ call.
And while the actual definition of “Shareholder” remains ambiguous, everyone keeps missing the point.
It’s a power stuggle between the people who have that implied power and the ones they represent.
The Chasers crew returns to ABC on Oz TV monday with their “Hamster Wheel”
‘The timing of last year’s episodes turned out to be a gift, coinciding with another chapter in the long-running Julia Gillard-Kevin Rudd leadership saga, the circus of an anti-carbon-tax rally in Canberra led by Sydney radio shock-jock Alan Jones, and the appointment of blowhard conservative Paul Henry to lead Channel Ten’s (failed) assault on the breakfast-TV market.’
AND
‘If A Current Affair was the gift to us in 2006, Paul Henry is the gift to us in 2012,” Licciardello says. ”He’s an interesting media performer because he’s both intentionally and unintentionally funny.’
berny d I know that but the management have managed to convince themselves that they are the owners when they are not.
they need to be removed so that decent people with the public good at heart are installed.
this charade must stop and the thieves relieved of their positions.
Of course it is important that the company keep going because Auckland is a major entrepot but that does not mean that jumped up accountants can sit there and scheme on how to take it out of public ownership and into their own grubby little hands.
What the fuck is going on in this world?
basis for the “sun”: maybe it is all wind
btw, the reignited fatwa upon Rushdie may not be the Moor’s last sigh
“they” label the ‘left’ ‘thought police’: how about thought facilitators?
to the Social Security recipient ‘label-ers’; do ‘they’ consider all the voluntary intellectual and vocational services many recipients of Social Security provide to Their community??
Yep. 5 new State Houses for the Chathams. Are they considering Transportation as mentioned by an earlier poster?
The liberalisation of retail (FDI) in Indian is very sad. How many times must the sub-continent be colonised?
interestingly, an Indian aquaintence informed me that many Indians go into Health Professions out of
Vocational Altruism
(Brahmen respect falling-maybe the Aryan taint)
Apparently live-stock thefts are ever-increasing in Hawkes Bay and gutted carcasses left near residential areas. Man, imo, this type offence is likely to get worse.
Max Keiser on RT continuously discusses the eventuation of Gold Standard-based currencies once more. May be why there are so many newspaper advertisements seducing people to relinquish theirs. (as is often stated, u cannot eat it though) Nom Nom!
John Bradshaw on “The Family”
Love? Agape`
Hookie! $13.50 may buy 1-6 second-hand books
i pray all these new educationalists serving masters are instilling Self-mastery
Can u own a “Gravitional Conflagration” ?, question of the day?
Go Winston Peters: At least he’s trying to contribute too informed debate.
Go Greens: They’re always civilised.
Go Labour: Their questions are designed to inspire constructive debate.
Go Mana: Their responses are designed too inform us and contribute too constructive debate
Go Everyone else: There’s a civilised debate happening.
Go Nats: We don’t debate, we “Lead M8”, (Pending debate)
to the Social Security recipient ‘label-ers’; do ‘they’ consider all the voluntary intellectual and vocational services many recipients of Social Security provide to Their community??
Compassion for other people is relatively easy, relatively speaking. Compassion for oneself, not so easy. Which person can love the other by not wishing to change them?
The labellers suffer from a deficit or lack of compassion for themselves. Which person can love themselves by not wishing to change anything?
Aspiration – to what? Imperfection? More perfect than perfection itself? “…do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” Mathew 6 :3
“Heaven arms with compassion those it would not see destroyed”.
The labelled need to understand that they can reject the label and stop the cycle. Though in our “christian times” the labelled have their work cut out. It won’t stop the hate banging on the windows, but at least it can be seen as outside banging on the windows, no need to invite it in.
“Sleep without dreaming, awake without anxiety.”
No one need do anything to make oneself worthy in the eyes of another; do only for the other, anything else is by-product, not focus.
“…do not worry …for the day is its own trouble.” Mathew 6 : 25 – 34
New Zealand is the only country to vote against further protection for the critically endangered Maui’s dolphins at the world’s largest conservation summit.
Well, we now know, without a doubt, where this governments priorities lie and it isn’t in maintaining life on this world.
The Antarctic Ocean Alliance released maps earlier today that show that New Zealand’s proposal will maintain the status quo, leaving the majority of the Ross Sea’s biodiversity hotspots and the most heavily fished areas open and vulnerable to exploitation.
I think we can assume that this government will say that they’re putting in place protections for the environment but what they will actually mean is that they’ll be putting in place protections for the fishing industry.
Does our vote against mean that the protection will not go ahead?
Well, I don’t think it was actual international law that was being voted upon so we’re not bound by it.
Strange new species discovered off South America, The Planet is still trying for us.
Speaks volumes about the Tenacity of the Life engine we live on.
She’d even work with us given a quantified chance.
But it has to be a real, future oriented request.
The will is obvious, life will continue.
If thats the spieces I think you are referring to, you can be reasonably assured that unless its some kind of hoax, that it came from a laboratory somewhere!`
paraphrased- “…the 21st Century conception of the world is one of 3rd Century before Christ;..the age of the Stoics, Sceptics, Cynics, and above all, the Epicurean.”
-The Great Partnership: God, Science and the Search for Meaning.-Jonathan Sacks.
(is shaping up to be a really helpful book, …if one is interested. consistency being the hobgoblin of the small minded and all that-Emerson)
nah.
kweewee doesn’t really understand what that word means.
as soon as the whole National Party realises that he and his gang only represent themselves then he is dead meat.
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The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Kiwis planning a swim or heading out on a boat this summer should remember to stop and think about water safety, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop and ACC and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand’s beaches, lakes and rivers are some of the most beautiful in the ...
The Government is urging Kiwis to drive safely this summer and reminding motorists that Police will be out in force to enforce the road rules, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This time of year can be stressful and result in poor decision-making on our roads. Whether you are travelling to see ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
A separate passport, citizenship and membership of the United Nations are only available to fully independent nations, Winston Peters' office says. ...
By Emma Andrews, Henare te Ua Māori Journalism Intern at RNZ News The New Zealand fuel company Z Energy is swapping out street names for “correct” kupu on service stops around the country, with the help of local hapū. When Z took over 226 fuel sites from Shell in 2010, ...
Summer reissue: Was it a false measurement, a full-blown conspiracy or just some mild incompetence? Mad Chapman uncovers the truth of Maddi Wesche’s final throw. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Old, Associate Professor, Biology, Zoology, Animal Science, Western Sydney University Dmitry Chulov, Shutterstock At this time of year, images of reindeer are everywhere. I’ve had a soft spot for reindeer ever since I was a little girl. Doesn’t everyone? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grozdana Manalo, Career Services Manager (Education), University of Sydney hedgehog94/Shutterstock Getting casual work over summer, or a part-time job that you might continue once your tertiary course starts, can be a great way to get workplace experience and earn some extra ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ty Ferguson, Research associate in exercise, nutrition and activity, University of South Australia Peera_Stockfoto/Shutterstock It’s never been easier to stay connected to work. Even when we’re on leave, our phones and laptops keep us tethered. Many of us promise ourselves we ...
The NZ Media Council upheld the complaint under principle four: comment and fact On 5 September 2024, The Spinoff published a brief article titled Made in Palestine, found in 1970s Hastings, which highlighted an upcoming art exhibition featuring photographs of vintage cosmetic products labelled “Made in Palestine.” The piece, described ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kasey Symons, Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University We are well and truly in cricket season. The Australian men’s cricket team is taking centre stage against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series while the Big Bash League is underway, as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Woods, Lecturer, Nursing, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University FTiare/Shutterstock Summer is here and for many that means going to the beach. You grab your swimmers, beach towel and sunscreen then maybe check the weather forecast. Did you think to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saman Khalesi, Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Nutrition, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity Australia Dean Clarke/Shutterstock The holiday season can be a time of joy, celebration, and indulgence in delicious foods and meals. However, for many, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Late Night With The Devil. Maslow Entertainment Marketing is critical to the success of commercial films, and companies will often spend half as much again on top of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francisco Jose Testa, Lecturer in Earth Sciences (Mineralogy, Petrology & Geochemistry), University of Tasmania The Conversation As a kid, it was tough for me to grasp the massive time scale of Earth’s history. Now, with nearly two decades of experience as ...
Te Pāti Māori has had to adopt a new way of debating, operating and even thinking in Parliament in response to the Government’s “onslaught” against te ao Māori, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.In an end-of-year interview with Newsroom, the Te Tai Hauauru MP reflected on how 2024 has differed from her ...
Opinion: The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science report was announced earlier this month, yet it didn’t get the flurry of media attention and political hand-wringing that typically accompanies these announcements. This might be because it presented good news, or you could argue, no news; the results paint a ...
NewsroomBy Dr Lisa Darragh, Dr Raewyn Eden and Dr David Pomeroy
At long last, The Spinoff shells out for a nut ranking. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.It recently came to The Spinoff’s attention ...
I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here’s exactly how it played out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...
Summer reissue: One anxiously attentive passenger pays attention to an in-flight safety video, and wonders ‘Why can’t I pick up my own phone?’ The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...
Summer reissue: Why do those Lange-Douglas years cast such a long shadow 40 years on? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published June ...
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The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
An unrelenting faith in “swift transition” has driven Tauranga Whai to their first Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa championship. At a boisterous Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, the visiting Tokomanawa Queens were blown away 90-71 in the final.Whai led by 20 points at halftime as their urgent movement and unflinching faith in three-point shooting from anywhere ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
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This was amusing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=U_3Bqh8ZBAg
(Nick Clegg apologising with subtitles)
Funny how satire can be so true.
From John Minto
Mike Feinberg from KIPP (Knowledge is Power Programme) is coming to New Zealand next week to promote charter schools for the ACT/National government. KIPP provides a hideous caricature of quality edcuation for kids from low-income communities in the US. Here is a snippet from a KIPP school which gives the flavour of what goes on provided by education researcher Howard Berlak after a recent visit to a KIPP school in San Francisco:
“When I was there children who followed all the rules were given points that could be exchanged for goodies at the school store. Those who resisted the rules or were slackers wore a large sign pinned to their clothes labeled “miscreant.” Miscreants sat apart from the others at all times including lunch, were denied recess and participation in all other school projects and events.
. . . . I’ve spent many years in schools. This one felt like a humane, low security prison or something resembling a locked-down drug rehab program for adolescents run on reward and punishments by well meaning people. Maybe a case can be made for such places, but I cannot imagine anyone (including the Times reporter) sending their kids there unless they have no other acceptable options. What is most disturbing is the apparent universal belief by KIPP staff and partisans that standardized tests scores are the singular and most important measure of a truly good education. ”
Remember this when you hear Feinberg the glossy salesman..
Thanks for that Tony. Of course some Nz teachers use a punishment/reward system though they don’t call it “punishment” but call it “consequences.” (Heard of Benching?) Not as extreme as the indefensible KIPP system of course.
A genius like the late Gore Vidal would most certainly have been labelled a “miscreant” during his detested schooling days!
Ha, what do you mean “would most certainly have”? Her certainly was.
My giddy aunt! That’s insane…
run on reward and punishments by well meaning people. Earlier this week I mentioned the nasty authoritarian streak we have in this country: given the “poor are responsible for their own state” attitudes Feinberg will get a ready audience.
I had the misfortune this week (it was the only station the car radio would pick up whilst driving round Auckland) to listen to 15 minutes of Leighton (?dont know his name but “the Excrable” will do) rant about how we need to take responsibility and kill people who don’t have warrants and rego. FFS. To that we are reduced.
Did he really say kill? Or was it a general description of acts that would lead to someone not breathing?
No. “Kill” is my metaphor for his desire to punish, he did say words to the effect of confiscate cars, fine $000s dollars etc. The whole thing centred on Leightons desire to make the citizen take “responsibility” whatever that means, and rather than being persuaded and enabled to do so the citizen was to be whipped into compliance. All very misanthropic and coercive.
Got into a major argument last night with a loved one who was regurgitating the talk-back hate-speech that she listens to practically all the time, and quoting from Ian frakking Wishart’s latest nasty, ignorant mixture of untruths and spin.
Probably shouldn’t have in the circumstances, but it’s not just talk but a means of aggression against targetted scapegoats, and I can’t always stay cool in the face of it.
Personal responsibility. The new metric of the right. Despite the recent
Law series on TV7 that clearly made the case against arguments of virtue.
The problem is the turd blossom. Which is a two step, any lie must be
two lies facing each other off.
Romney would not be as rich and as successful were it not for the
structure and nature of the peoples of the USA, so he makes out like a
Randian superhero that he never had to take no frigging handouts….
…then he shouts out that the other 50% are losers needing the
government. Exactly how long would Romney last in Haiti?
Yesterday in the welfare debate, a government MP declared that
the reforms to welfare will reduce criminality. Well actually he
said more like welfare reforms would do away with fraud.
The two lies, one that there is fraud, not the lapse in personal
responsibility of welfare recipients too many that is fraudulent,
and that the reforms which would see more lose entitlements
(like ACC model) would not create more crime and more costs on
the state from illhealth, etc.
Look I’m the first person who would welcome the goal of helping
people into work, but that’s not what the welfare reforms do, their
purpose is to lower the short-term costs of welfare, and raise them
in the medium to long term (when Key has left power).
Why do they hate so much? Why does Romney low America but
hate most Americans? Why does Key hate our grandkids, why
are we bequeathing the coming generations with a resource crisis,
climate crisis, social and debt crisises????
Personal responsibility….likes J Banks takes for his actions, or P Bennett for hers, or sideshow john for the many lies he’s perpetrated etc etc.
They’ve got the hypocrasy so ingrained it’s second nature to them.
Personal responsibility, code for the desire to punish, subjugate and dominate.
Personal responsibility is a core part of the NZ psyche. The only difference the Left needs to deliver is a social and economic environment where taking personal responsibility delivers substantial rewards.
100,000 NZers would start work on Monday if there were $15/hr jobs available. Its our failure as a society that they aren’t.
There’s plenty of work which desperately needs to be done in our community. But our current economic structures means fuck all of that work can be structured as paid jobs.
Our current structures means that things only get done if an owner is making a profit from someone else’s work. If that’s not happening then it doesn’t get done.
++1 Draco
Psychological Projection
They probably don’t even realise that they’re projecting their own failings onto others.
“Vital Lies, Simple Truths”- The psychology of Self-Deception, is a populist paperback
-said the joker to the thief..
(not meaning u D.)
Why do they hate so much…?
The “hate” is twinned with “fear”… they hate so much because there’s so much they’re afraid of. The system peddles fear and hate for control… dense emotions that are easy to tap the group conscious into. “Fight or flight” and by the time TPTB have bashed your life around the block a few times… many have no fight left.
Radio New Zealand is reporting that NZ was one of only two countries to vote against protection measures (banning gill and trawling nets) for the endangered Maui Dolphin. Although the vote was confidential the New Zealand DOC representative apparently announced that they were under instructions from the Ministry of Primary Industries to oppose the proposal.
Mauis dolphins are iconic in New Zealand and are facing extinction. It seems the Government does not care.
When you add this to the recent cabinet decision to oppose antarctic protection proposed by the US you get the feeling of a regime that it belligerently opposed to environmental measures just because profitability may be affected.
Neil Abel describes Joyce, Carter and Brownlee as “the dark heart of the anti-environment policy.”
In a telling passage he states
“There is a spirit of anti-environmental policy in our present administration which is centred on an interpretation of economics that has lead to the mine, drill, frack, cut, sell, build-a-road-through-it and ‘let the devil take the hindmost’ strategies that are the extent of our Government’s development inspiration in nearly four years of power.
An economy that relies on the steady degradation, destruction and using-up of its natural resources cannot by definition bring lasting human prosperity. ”
A very apt description of this Government.
The reserve bank has gone back wards on inflation control ( returning to the outmoded 2% target .our dollar will now remain higher than need the money speculators will have a field day as they already are we are one of the few dumb arse countries that don’t play the devaluation game the speculators know this so its easy money for them.
Well, that’s going to push interest rates up which will make the banks happy – more money for them from printing the stuff.
Also of concern is the change in culture at DOC in the last decade. There are still many good people working in DOC, but there is now an ingrained institutional problem, where conservation is segmented, and often takes second place to supposed economic priorities. I’m not sure how many people realise the shift that has happened.
Why is DOC taking instructions from the Ministry of Primary Industries?
Its environmental fraud by parliamentarians, when they degrade the future environment
for short term profits for a few private companies. Their lack of concern is a fraud
on the people of NZ who lose environmental wealth, future prosperity from tourism
and natural wealth (clean water, biodiversity)….
We are living through an age now typified by massive environmental fraud.
I have this song running in my head EVERY time I hear about the lack of environmental accountablity by this government: Midnight Oil put it nicely…
The tucker box is empty now
The heart of Kelly’s country cleared
The gangers on the southern line
Like the steam trains have disappeared
Pelicans glide
Miracles up in the skies
We vote for a government
With axes in it’s eyes
Mountains of Burma
The road to Mandalay
In the mountains of Burma
Light years away
Mountains of Burma
Will the sons of Solidarity
Still march on May Day ?
Will the sisters of the seventies
Still fight for equal pay
There’s no-one on the Reeperbahn
No more blankets handed out for land
We feed an economy
It’s got blood on it’s hands
Mountains of Burma
The road to Mandalay
Mountains of Burma
Light years away
In the mountains of Burma
The road to Mandalay
In the mountains of Burma
Hope you’re light years away
Pack your bags full of guns and ammunition
Bills fall due for the industrial revolution
Scorch the earth till the earth surrenders
Soldiers of armies
Storm empty fields
In a traveller’s trance
On the way to the high frontier
Sleepwalkers stumble
Cable cars run aground
Imaginary enemies
Form high above the clouds
It may be about the lucky country, but it is just as applicable here.
‘There is a spirit of anti-environmental policy in our present administration ..’ and anti democracy, anti evidence/fact based policy etc etc
It’s that Hollowman policy that’s never uttered in public, only in private gov’t, dining, golf, leisure, business settings etc etc
This government doesn’t care about the environment or, indeed, life itself – they only care about getting more money for themselves and their rich mates.
QFT
No respect for life, it will be a loss to NZ, and our souls.
They are beautiful creatures who understand, “All for one M8”.
And I will miss them if they go.
Serco – the company currently running one NZ prison in a PPP and contracted to do the same in the new prison being built in South Auckland, currently under scrutiny in the UK for falsifying data in relation to a contract for after hours medical treatment:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/sep/20/serco-nhs-false-data-gps
URGENT!!!!
(For some reason – can’t post this on facebook)
PROTEST AGAINST US SECRETARY OF DEFENCE LEON PANETTA!
TODAY! FRIDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2012
1 – 3PM
OUTSIDE GRAFTON RD ENTRANCE TO AUCKLAND DOMAIN (WAR MEMORIAL)
(ALONG FROM AK HOSPITAL ENTRANCE)
AT 2.45PM US SECRETARY OF DEFENCE LEON PANETTA WILL BE LAYING A WREATH INSIDE AT THE AUCKLAND HALL OF MEMORIES!
If YOU are opposed to this John Key National/ACT Government cosying up to the USA – BE THERE! (If you can!)
(Media have been alerted)
Penny Bright
[lprent: It might have to do with the capitals and repeated explanation marks. I know that when I see them my immediate response is to throttle the noise. I’m sure that if I were coding facebook, I’d get a bit of code to do it for me. ]
Penny, are you really surprised you can’t post that on Facebook?
It would be nice if you could show respect for the fallen by taking your protest somewhere else, like the consulate.
It would be nice if Key could show respect for the fallen by taking his PR exercise with a VIP from the world’s No. 1 terrorist state somewhere else.
+1
I suspect the wreath laying is not centre stage and that the main PR exercise is the powhiri & meeting at Government House with Coleman.
Key, in fact doesn’t meet up with Panetta until tomorrow for a barbecue lunch. How big a media event that barbecue is going to be I couldn’t say.
No doubt, America enjoys being referred to as No. 1.
As for terroism, perhaps your susceptible to the theory (which I’ve just made up) that the deliberate sinking of the Lexington (one of the missing carriers from Pearl Harbour) by a US destroyer 900 km NE of Rockhampton, was a “false flag” operation designed to inflame anti-Japanese sentiment in Australia & NZ. This then paved the way for the arrival of the 1st Marine division in NZ 3 months later.
(The marines then went on to Guadalcanal, & this being the 70th anniversary of that campaign, nicely brings us back to the wreath laying)
So, what’s your preference for the future?
Cut diplomatic ties?
Cut trade?
Ban American film & TV? (please exempt “Breaking Bad”)
I’d say all of the above, especially the last, but that’s just me!
+ 100,000!
Key and his lot are, as usual, hoping to have it both ways as concerns relations with the US and China. Again, a very dangerous bit of gambling!
Hi Penny. The post is up on fb. On the Stuff.co.nz fb page there is a ‘posts by others’ button. This takes you to a separate display of posts. There is also a ‘post by friends button’ More separstist behaviour in the media.
the lunartic is Off the grass( one week, researchers, and unsettling)
Corrections staff are identifying less staff ratio/increased physical and sexual assaults in Serco prisons.
“supported living” is preferable to in-valid; yet still more freakin labels upon people
Kapiti local bodies requesting Booze Barn be a “responsible’ corporate citizen;”oxymoron”.
(what is it about this government that they desire to keep facilitating the pouring of ethanol down our young people’s throats, clouding their brains and setting them up for failures and damage?)
let us not take our eyes of that which is above us-Fermi paradox (thanks DtB, had forgotten that one)
(He is everywhere and everything to me-Third Day,Öfferings)
-follow another human and u will only see their shadows on the cave wall
now, Kapital is ‘flying’ out of France (surprise, surprise) and yet the tax reforms only affect 1000’s
along with increasing suggestions of the challenges for demokracy by free speech
yet is speech free when cliches, platitudes and populist jingos etc are resorted thru?
Wittgenstein (in 90 minutes with a cup-a-tea)
I am about to commence “The Great Partnership”-Jonathan Sacks
after that? “Changing the World Through Kindness”
(gotta brace myself for the Anatomy of Human Destructiveness-Erich Fromm)
is it just a blog? may be a distributed mind..now,… there are a whole-lotta-thoughts Rosie
re telegraphing punches? Politics Is a dirty business (soiled) seeds fall where the may,
some on the path, some amongst rocky places, some amongst the thorns,
yet,
many fall on good soil (just saying)
-many of the “cats” have softened their look, yet cats still claw and bite
however, our glorious leader is still poncing about like some thing from The Great Gatsby/Vile Bodies
“When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice” Act 16:19
-years ago, when i was in treatment, WINZ staff acknowledged even then, that many people in New Zealand Aotearoa (thats one of my tells) would require supplementary redistributed income to flesh out what they earned through employment
Nice summary M8!
Am I missing something but Bryce Edwards Political Roundup seems to have stopped with Tueday 18 September “Tide Turns against Banks.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10834800
Maybe he’s waiting for some News.
Edwards said something last week about taking a bit of a break from daily round-ups.
I wonder how much currency trading John Key does these days.
I wonder what bets he’s taken on the NZD.
Listener editor government apologist
The idiot editor is clearly basing her assumption that beneficiaries won’t be bashed by the government’s repressive welfare policy changes on nothing more than her own ivory tower ignorance…
Nobody with a little intelligence would subscribe to the Listener.
Couldn’t agree more, I subscribed to the Listener for more than 30 years, gave it up prior to the 2008 election when it became overloaded with right wing apologists.
Me too, mismatched statistics, two of the top columnists in bed with top nats, Bill Railston raving on, etc, etc.
Me too. I read my sister’s copy of a Listener recently and had no regrets about my cancellation of the sub about 2 years ago.
Richard Prebble does a column every so often, too.
Bit harsh Dr T, it still has some good stuff that it probably copy’s paste’s from better outlets but it defenitely took a right turn politically some years ago with NACT spinsters like Billie (how to break a working engine) Ralston and Jane (you have diplomatic immunity) Clifton.
Most publications serving their masters interests did..
Anyone done some objective analysis on the publications the NZX swallowed up under Mr Smarmy boy Weldon’s watch to see if tone/direction has altered…..they were mainly rural publications that had some anti Fonterra listing angles at times… funny that.
so has Len Brwon got the intestinal fortitude to fire the management of P.O.A. L.
when is he going to do it?
You do realize that the Council OK’d the POAL policy to kick the Union workers in the guts captain hook? Any pretext of caring that Len Brown showed when it became apparent in the media that POAL are a bunch of nasty bastards was simply grandstanding. The mayor will do nothing!
He can’t bud, it’d be shareholder vote stuff, not a singular individuals’ call.
And while the actual definition of “Shareholder” remains ambiguous, everyone keeps missing the point.
It’s a power stuggle between the people who have that implied power and the ones they represent.
The Chasers crew returns to ABC on Oz TV monday with their “Hamster Wheel”
‘The timing of last year’s episodes turned out to be a gift, coinciding with another chapter in the long-running Julia Gillard-Kevin Rudd leadership saga, the circus of an anti-carbon-tax rally in Canberra led by Sydney radio shock-jock Alan Jones, and the appointment of blowhard conservative Paul Henry to lead Channel Ten’s (failed) assault on the breakfast-TV market.’
AND
‘If A Current Affair was the gift to us in 2006, Paul Henry is the gift to us in 2012,” Licciardello says. ”He’s an interesting media performer because he’s both intentionally and unintentionally funny.’
berny d I know that but the management have managed to convince themselves that they are the owners when they are not.
they need to be removed so that decent people with the public good at heart are installed.
this charade must stop and the thieves relieved of their positions.
I hear ya, but like I said, who’s going to instigate the shareholder vote?
The workers union just needs to keep operating in good faith.
“Trustworthy” is a 2 way street, if the company itself has funding issues, it should be open about that at the negotiating table.
And as long as they keep paying, the workers are gauranteed too continue, it is their livelihoods afterall.
The company itself will continue to function. That’s the objective surely?
Of course it is important that the company keep going because Auckland is a major entrepot but that does not mean that jumped up accountants can sit there and scheme on how to take it out of public ownership and into their own grubby little hands.
What the fuck is going on in this world?
basis for the “sun”: maybe it is all wind
btw, the reignited fatwa upon Rushdie may not be the Moor’s last sigh
“they” label the ‘left’ ‘thought police’: how about thought facilitators?
to the Social Security recipient ‘label-ers’; do ‘they’ consider all the voluntary intellectual and vocational services many recipients of Social Security provide to Their community??
Yep. 5 new State Houses for the Chathams. Are they considering Transportation as mentioned by an earlier poster?
The liberalisation of retail (FDI) in Indian is very sad. How many times must the sub-continent be colonised?
interestingly, an Indian aquaintence informed me that many Indians go into Health Professions out of
Vocational Altruism
(Brahmen respect falling-maybe the Aryan taint)
Apparently live-stock thefts are ever-increasing in Hawkes Bay and gutted carcasses left near residential areas. Man, imo, this type offence is likely to get worse.
Max Keiser on RT continuously discusses the eventuation of Gold Standard-based currencies once more. May be why there are so many newspaper advertisements seducing people to relinquish theirs. (as is often stated, u cannot eat it though) Nom Nom!
John Bradshaw on “The Family”
Love? Agape`
Hookie! $13.50 may buy 1-6 second-hand books
i pray all these new educationalists serving masters are instilling Self-mastery
remember the is/ought fallacy too Tory Trolls
(John Key, the man who sold the world)
Can u own a “Gravitional Conflagration” ?, question of the day?
Go Winston Peters: At least he’s trying to contribute too informed debate.
Go Greens: They’re always civilised.
Go Labour: Their questions are designed to inspire constructive debate.
Go Mana: Their responses are designed too inform us and contribute too constructive debate
Go Everyone else: There’s a civilised debate happening.
Go Nats: We don’t debate, we “Lead M8”, (Pending debate)
Demotics Bud (Uturn to thank for that one) never forget a-muse
btw, let us all stare at the S(u)n.hee hee
Compassion for other people is relatively easy, relatively speaking. Compassion for oneself, not so easy. Which person can love the other by not wishing to change them?
The labellers suffer from a deficit or lack of compassion for themselves. Which person can love themselves by not wishing to change anything?
Aspiration – to what? Imperfection? More perfect than perfection itself? “…do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” Mathew 6 :3
“Heaven arms with compassion those it would not see destroyed”.
The labelled need to understand that they can reject the label and stop the cycle. Though in our “christian times” the labelled have their work cut out. It won’t stop the hate banging on the windows, but at least it can be seen as outside banging on the windows, no need to invite it in.
“Sleep without dreaming, awake without anxiety.”
No one need do anything to make oneself worthy in the eyes of another; do only for the other, anything else is by-product, not focus.
“…do not worry …for the day is its own trouble.” Mathew 6 : 25 – 34
all ways, compassion, moderation (work in progress) and humility (more work in progress)
-acculturated memory fades over time. U started it!
love your neighbour as yourself is easy-peasy; it is the hurtful, harmful Romans that lead me to want overturn the tables of the money-exchangers
Heke tipu oranga, he taonga tuku iho, ka pakanga ake, aue te aiotanga, te manawanui.
-Persist in the battle and journey for wellbeing, it is a treasure handed down from the heavens, then comes confidence and peace.
Te Mauri Ora!
As Parata releases the National Standards data she just reveals what was already known and her Government refuses to address the real causes of under achievement. Of course the cheapest solution is to just blame the teachers again.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/09/natiional-standards-solve-nothing.html
People really need to watch this documentary. It’s about the level of extinctions going on right now.
Dolphin vote ‘tarnishes NZ’s reputation’
Well, we now know, without a doubt, where this governments priorities lie and it isn’t in maintaining life on this world.
Something is not right with this – Who else voted, where is the full list, and what does it mean in terms of the votes made supposedly from NZ.
Does our vote against mean that the protection will not go ahead?
More details required!
Well, considering this:
I think we can assume that this government will say that they’re putting in place protections for the environment but what they will actually mean is that they’ll be putting in place protections for the fishing industry.
Well, I don’t think it was actual international law that was being voted upon so we’re not bound by it.
Strange new species discovered off South America, The Planet is still trying for us.
Speaks volumes about the Tenacity of the Life engine we live on.
She’d even work with us given a quantified chance.
But it has to be a real, future oriented request.
The will is obvious, life will continue.
If thats the spieces I think you are referring to, you can be reasonably assured that unless its some kind of hoax, that it came from a laboratory somewhere!`
Breaking The Set is a new current affairs/news show on RT to replace the Alyona Show…worth a watch.
paraphrased- “…the 21st Century conception of the world is one of 3rd Century before Christ;..the age of the Stoics, Sceptics, Cynics, and above all, the Epicurean.”
-The Great Partnership: God, Science and the Search for Meaning.-Jonathan Sacks.
(is shaping up to be a really helpful book, …if one is interested. consistency being the hobgoblin of the small minded and all that-Emerson)
US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta is staying at Langham Hotel – 83 Symonds St Auckland City (close to K Rd)
http://auckland.langhamhotels.co.nz/locate/location_map.htm
PROTEST & SHOW THAT NOT ALL NZers SUPPORT COSYING UP TO THE U$A!
OUTSIDE LANGHAM HOTEL
83 SYMONDS ST
8pm – 10pm!
PLEASE FORWARD!
A few of us had an effective protest outside the entrance to the Domain (where Panetta laid a wreath at 2.45pm at the Auckland Hall of Memories).
The entourage could not miss these banners – both going into and coming out of the Domain.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151035361951790&set=p.10151035361951790&type=1&theater
(Got coverage on TV1 )
Will bring same banners tonight!
WHO CAN COME?
IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT!!!
Arguably the most significant US visit for 30 years?
Thanks
Penny Bright
National standards results out today don’t look too flash. John Key should be taking urgent steps to improve them.
Maybe Keys visit to the Chatham’s found that national could learn some new standards.
http://www.cic.govt.nz/community.html
nah.
kweewee doesn’t really understand what that word means.
as soon as the whole National Party realises that he and his gang only represent themselves then he is dead meat.
Nothing effective will be done.
PROTEST AGAINST U$A SECRETARY OF STATE LEON PANETTA, OUTSIDE THE LANGHAM HOTEL FRIDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2012!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=240589602730915&set=a.198880766901799.39744.100003396314895&type=3&theater
Penny Bright