Open mike 22/04/2025
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8:12 am, April 22nd, 2025 - 10 comments
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- Monday 12 May
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The Government’s plans to limit the powers and scope of the Waitangi Tribunal is a disgrace. ...4 days ago - Tribunal review an attack on Te Tiriti o Waitangi
The Government’s plans to limit the powers and scope of the Waitangi Tribunal is a disgrace. ...4 days ago
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National has forced through a law change that will take money out of women’s pockets. ...6 days ago
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Te Pāti Māori stands in staunch and emotional opposition to the Government’s so-called Equal Pay Amendment Bill, calling it a calculated attack on working women and a cruel betrayal of the generations who have fought for pay equity in Aotearoa. “This bill doesn’t just undermine equal pay — it completely ...6 days ago
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There are more Pacific people unemployed as the rate increases to a staggering 10.8% under National. ...6 days ago
- Release: Unemployment remains high under National
Job losses remain stubbornly high under National, as their attack on jobs, wages, and women rages on. ...6 days ago
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The latest job market statistics show that unemployed people are being failed by a Government more focused on punishing the poor than creating jobs. ...6 days ago
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Te Pāti Māori is demanding urgent changes to the draft Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) framework, calling it a dangerous step backwards for Takatāpui, trans, and rainbow rangatahi. “This draft erases Takatāpui voices, ignores whānau diversity, and delays consent education. It’s not just inadequate, it’s unbelievably unsafe” said Te Pāti ...1 week ago
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Te Pāti Māori is demanding urgent changes to the draft Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) framework, calling it a dangerous step backwards for Takatāpui, trans, and rainbow rangatahi. “This draft erases Takatāpui voices, ignores whānau diversity, and delays consent education. It’s not just inadequate, it’s unbelievably unsafe” said Te Pāti ...1 week ago
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Labour welcomes the Auditor-General’s inquiry into the Government’s school lunches programme. ...1 week ago
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This Government is taking the women’s movement backwards, ensuring women will continue to be paid less into the future. ...1 week ago
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The Green Party has called out the Government’s latest attack on workers with the announcement that it is halting all pay equity claims. ...1 week ago
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Erica Stanford has been misusing her personal email address to manage sensitive information relating to Budget and visa changes prior to their public release. ...1 week ago
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This May Day Labour is standing with workers to defend decent jobs and fair pay. ...2 weeks ago
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Ave et vale, Franciscus.
As both a Catholic and a progressive, it's often hard to talk about my faith and my politics in the same breath. To many people, they feel like they should cancel each other out: one too rigid, the other too rebellious. One obsessed with tradition, the other allergic to it.
But Pope Francis showed me—showed all of us—that it doesn’t have to be that way.
He reminded the world that faith doesn’t have to mean judgment, and that progress matters more than perfection. He spoke in the language of love and justice, yes—but more than that, in the language of humanity.
He embraced the messy, complicated beauty of people’s lives. He wasn’t perfect, but he never pretended to be. That’s what made him so powerful.
He made space for all of us who live in the grey, who ask hard questions, who care about the poor and the planet and the soul—and believe those things belong together.
Losing him has made the world feel a little less bright. Now, more than ever, both the left and the Church need leaders of moral clarity, purpose, and deep humility.
And all I can hope is that his death doesn’t also mean the end of the tentative, tottering, uncertain steps the Church has made toward a kinder, more tolerant theology—one that we can support, and feel proud of.
Because even the tiniest steps toward a better, fairer world still matter.
Especially now.
As a Catholic and progressive myself, fully in accordance with you there.
Post coming.
Ad's post up now
https://thestandard.org.nz/farewell-pope-francis/
The 1% of the 1%
1.agreed that POTUS Trump would be good for the economy
2.were playing the long game of survive the autocrat (see Russia and opolyonoploly)
3.preserving their monopoly
4.building or preserving an entwined relationship with government
5.blinded by tax cuts
6.saw Trump as protection from foreign regulation and taxation
(more than one)
It's even worse when the devaluation of the dollar is factored in.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/04/22/us-tech-giants-head-into-earnings-season-reeling-from-trump/
opolyonoploly ?
Is this related to Apollo (the destroyer) ?
It is like covfefe – an accidental portmanteau of coffee and coverage
It refers of course to the oligarchs of Russia, most, the many (polyglot) survived often to invest offshore (areas of foreign languages) to reduce their risk – such as owning property in London, the home of the board game monopoly.
The assets of the 7 are of a worldwide global economic orbit (thus influenced by tariffs and global regulation).
I note the projection though, so you see Russia as a judge of the world?
Do Valdimor’s writings indicate that he sees himself as of an Apollyon cause?
Do Valdimor’s writings indicate that he sees himself as of an Apollyon cause?
Certainly more apollonian than dionysian.
At the aggregate level, adding $50T to the allowed public debt ceiling over the next decade and POTUS demanding the Fed cut their rate, despite a forecast increase in inflation because of tariffs an obvious response.
Despite all this, expectations are for recession in the USA – thus stagflation has pulled the Volcker (20% Fed rate) stake out and will soon rise once more.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce92y3j9v34o
Big Hairy News expand on the Hamish Campbell story/non-story? question. Two ex-members of 2by2 discuss this with Pat.
The C of C preferred pathway, financing builds by social housing providers who have land available, or SoHo build, has yet to bolt forth.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/558701/community-housing-builds-stalled-as-providers-left-without-financial-security