A knowledgeable friend of mine says that the banking system is on the verge of collapse.
The FT reported on October 9 (behind a paywall)
“David Cameron has urged European leaders to take a “big bazooka” approach to resolving the eurozone crisis, warning they have just a matter of weeks to avert economic disaster.
The UK prime minister wants France and Germany to bury their differences and to adopt before the end of the year what he claims would be a decisive five-point plan to end the uncertainty, which was having a “chilling effect” on the
world economy.”
Guess Cameron has more important things to do than to come to NZ to help Key’s reelection prospects.
Soros sums it up neatly in the New York Review of Books:
The euro crisis is a direct consequence of the crash of 2008. When Lehman Brothers failed, the entire financial system started to collapse and had to be put on artificial life support. This took the form of substituting the sovereign credit of governments for the bank and other credit that had collapsed. At a memorable meeting of European finance ministers in November 2008, they guaranteed that no other financial institutions that are important to the workings of the financial system would be allowed to fail, and their example was followed by the United States.
Angela Merkel then declared that the guarantee should be exercised by each European state individually, not by the European Union or the eurozone acting as a whole. This sowed the seeds of the euro crisis because it revealed and activated a hidden weakness in the construction of the euro: the lack of a common treasury. The crisis itself erupted more than a year later, in 2010.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10761048
Brash flying overseas to chat about how to fix the world’s economy. Last ditch effort to shake out some ideas that might interest voters? Desperate attempt to avoid RWC overload? Had to use up some air dollars before the expired?
What a pity I missed that. I am sure it will be on audio though. I couldn’t stand any more victorious rugby commentary and turned off before the radio found a talking kea to give a squawk on the matter. But it was a great win. France rose and scored so well in the second half and the All Blacks stood firm with a win on their home ground for this auspicious NZ event.
Enough said.
I think it’s time for the Occupy movement in New Zealand to be open about what their motives are. They seem to be trying to establish support based on extended vagueness. It’s time they were up front and honest.
Pete, I am certain that the bogie man is lurking somewhere amongst the OWS movement in NZ, he will come and burn down your house and destroy the status quo you so adore, you are so right to be paranoid about the OWS motives.
Meanwhile as you focus on and scan the OWSers motives, some banker is helping himself to large rewards by defrauding YOU of all your cash. Get the picture?
Actually some banks somewhere have enabled me to own the property I’m living on (establishing a degree of self sustainability). I’m sure you have benefited from a bank sometime too. Yes, there are valid issues with international banking (and politics and business). But without them the world would not be able to function sufficiently to support it’s population.
Don’t you think it’s hypocritical to discourage political comment on the surface but to be actively involved in destroying our democracy and replacing it with communism?
…to be actively involved in destroying our democracy and replacing it with communism?
What about being supportive of going beyond a representative parliamentary democracy, which is no democracy at all by any meaningful use of the term, and building substantive participatory democratic structures?
Know what I mean Pete? Democracy whereby we each have an input into decisions that affect our daily lives to the extent that we will be, or are likely to be, affected? Partcipatory democratic structures in our communities and workplaces and in our schools and unversities etc.
A polity and economy whose shapes and actions are determined by democratic participation on the part of us all rather than by a few excercising the power that is concentrated in them by present configurations.
Attempting to formulate a democracy that is immediate, real and empowering in the stead of the disempowering representative systems we labour within at present, is surely worth engaging in and supporting, no?
Yes, I know what you mean Bill, because something very similar to that is what I have been proposing for Dunedin for the last six months and is what I am offering to help implement if I’m elected. And if I’m not elected it will be a bit harder but I’ll still be trying.
If a participatory model of democracy can be established and proven at electorate level it may then spread to other electorates and grow into a new national way.
I still think this makes much more sense than some in Occupy who suggest we scrap everything and start again, with no way of knowing what may eventuate. I went to OD with a lot of interest becasue I thought we were on a common quest, but I was very disappointed with their narrow idealism and preference for destructive revolution.
But without them the world would not be able to function sufficiently to support it’s population.
Tell me, how does having a “bank” allow the world to support the human population which is presently estimated to be in excess of sustainable capacity by about 6 billion?
Do you know Petey how often various commenters try to pin you down to try and work out what you actually believe. And you twist and turn like a twisty turny thing and never commit.
Maybe Petey is a fifth columnist for the occupation movement?
Are you happy to see Mana and possibly Greens using the Occupy label to campaign for the election? Did you see McCarten’s column in the Herald yesterday?
I think there is something fundamentally wrong with many things, and would like to try and do something about them.
I also think there may be something fundamentally wrong with Occupy NZ. Scrapping our democracy and scrapping capitalism is a bit radical don’t you think? Do you want our democracy scrapped?
No, we want better democracy and to get rid of the failed capitalist (see that “financial” collapse out there? That’s capitalism failing – again) paradigm.
Someone asked about this and must have deleted. McCarten:
“Last Saturday, a core group of 200 Aucklanders set up an Occupy camp in Auckland’s Aotea Square. They intend to stay there around the clock until Election Day.”
And to avoid vagueness – McCarten, Unite, Mana, Occupy
you see a big conspiracy, a plot, but have you ever thought that maybe the Mana Party have declared that part of their approach is to target non-voters, those who feel disinfranchised by the system you idolalise. Surely you would encourage everyone to vote, to exercise their rights, and if a political party offers representation then surely that is good and proper – that those previous non-voters now vote for whomever they want to. It seems your just being peevish because the occupiers didn’t bow down to you and exhalt you as some messiah – they actually had their own ideas and yours didn’t fit and because of that you have embarked on a sour vendetta. Tell me it ain’t so pete?
“And people involved and organisations involved are not exactly hiding what they want – scrap our democracy and replace it with their democracy – a version where nothing seems to be decided, not in the open anyway.
People involved talk open about revolution. And they talk openly about their preferred communist-like utopia.”
so they are ‘not exactly hiding’ what they want and banners are being flown and people are talking to others and somehow all this is not open. You seem to not have any idea that people with these ideas exist – they are communist – that quaint term. That leads me to think there is another real issue that you are not saying – what the hell is it so we can stop the bullshitting around.
Occupy jumped into this without thinking some things through. They are learning that if they want to generate momentum as a generic popuolar movement they have to walk the walk, and sideline activists oushing their personal barrows.
Highlighting hypocrisy and bad images helps them, if they react smartly. Occupy Dunedin got a bad image as being a doped hazed party pad – they have now tried to ban pot and alcohol. Someone has just reported they have taken down the Mana banners. I don’t know about the Socialist sign. They told me have put up a banner clarifying their “visible support” position.
Saying “excuse me, isn’t your political situation hypocritical” didn’t get any reaction. Highlighting and publicising it did.
If the Occupies keep dealing with and learning from mistakes they will improve and they may grow, to become popular they need to overcome a bad start. Many people in Dunedin don’t look at them favourably.
I suggest you have a read of the history of the French Revolution. It really is required reading for anyone interested in politics.
You can of course point to the period of the “Terror” in which tens of thousands were guillotined and fairly conclude that violent revolutions are a bad thing. You could indeed say that the mob who stormed the Bastille really hadn’t thought things through.
On the other hand from the point of the French Revolution onward, the ancient idea of monarchy as supreme ruler began an inexorable slide into historical irrelevancy. It is no exaggeration to say the the modern nation state has it’s first real incarnation in the French Republic. So in this sense revolution is a good thing.
Right now the world needs another revolution. The forces of greed and inequality are creating injustice and pressures that will ensure it will happen. The status-quo as you know it and believe in it Pete, is broken. Many people have come to the conclusion that ‘working within the system’ doesn’t get useful results anymore.
So now we have reached the point where the only useful question is what kind of revolution do you want? I’d suggest that if we took the Occupy movement seriously we’d get an exciting and anxious making ride, but with luck the process wouldn’t actually hang too many bankers from actual lamposts.
Pete. I think these problems are in your own mind.
I could not think of anything more hypocritical than present day politicians who accept public money, while actively working against the best interests of their employers.
A private sector employee who did that would be, rightly, sacked or even convicted.
Redlogix – I’m interested in the idea of a modern revolution, in my own small way that’s what I’m trying to stoke. I was attracted by the apparent blank canvas approach of what I understood Occupy to be, and I was disappointed to see that in Dunedin it appeared to be a few activists using it to push their own old barrows.
Should it be revolutions? I’m trying to stoke up a revolution in how people vote. In theory it would be simple to use the exisitng voting system and the imminent election to make potentially a huge impact. The most difficult aspect is overcoming voter apathy.
Hypothetical situation – Peter Dunne wins Ohariu, maybe two or three get in on the UF list, I win Dunedin North, UF ends up holding the balance of power, just. Ordinary person with a strong commitment to representing ordinary people and trialing a more participatory democratic system at electorate level now has significant potential sway.
While there are many possible outcomes of the election the above scenario is quite feasible – if enough voters see the value in it.
Replicate that over several electorates and you start to get the ability to make a significant difference. Revolutionise voting habits and a lot is possible.
Many people have come to the conclusion that ‘working within the system’ doesn’t get useful results anymore.
When the system is broken working within it just results in nothing being fixed.
I’m interested in the idea of a modern revolution, in my own small way that’s what I’m trying to stoke.
No, what you’re trying to do is hold on to the ways of a broken system.
While there are many possible outcomes of the election the above scenario is quite feasible – if enough voters see the value in it.
The proportion of voting in western democracies has been declining for some time. I’d say that this is possibly because more and more people see little value in voting in the present system where the only “people” listened to are the psychopathic corporations.
Although I disagree with much of the reasoning you use to reach your conclusions Pete, on this one point I do agree.
I’d be interested to know whether Matt McCarten was talking of November 15th being the end of Occupy Aotea Square on the back of a decision made by a GA there (in which case fine), or whether he was referring to ongoing ‘official’ involvement by Mana and Unite.
If the latter, then questions of whether those ‘good old’ Leninist strategies are at play really ought to be asked. Particularily by those heavily involved in the Occupations. If (and this is a big if) Mana, Unite and organisations associated with or undepinning Mana and Unite are going to suddenly disappear come November 15, then remaining Occupiers ought to be prepared, both mentally and otherwise for a ‘hole’ suddenly appearing in their spaces.
You started this, so you finish it. You are the one insinuating that the OWS movement has a hidden ulterior agenda, so you tell us what you think it is.
It’s not so hidden – McCarten admits to using it for election campaigning.
And people involved and organisations involved are not exactly hiding what they want – scrap our democracy and replace it with their democracy – a version where nothing seems to be decided, not in the open anyway.
People involved talk open about revolution. And they talk openly about their preferred communist-like utopia.
If you open your eyes it’s not vague beneath the surface.
But instead the diversion and abuse continues, doesn’t it ak.
Nothing in our “democracy” is open – just look at the hidden TPPA talks. It seems to me that the Occupy groups actually want open democracy – a democracy where people have a say and not just the corporations. Yes, it would remove power from the politicians and the rich – this is a Good Thing – but that seems to be your main complaint against it.
scrap our democracy and replace it with their democracy –
Well at the moment it is THEIR democracy, the democracy of the top 1%. Open your ears and you will also see voices plainly telling you that what you call ‘our democracy’ has been thoroughly subverted by a tiny elite who use their extreme wealth to capture the process.
It may not be so obvious or extreme here in NZ just yet, but all the numbers tell us that we are on exactly the same path that has taken the US and Europe into a dead-end where social inequality has become extreme, the financial system is in more or less permanent melt-down mode and real unemployment numbers are at Depression-era levels.
So exactly ‘whose’ democracy is it Pete? And exactly why are you defending it?
It’s far from perfect but we have one of the best democracies there is or has been.
Open your ears and you will also see voices plainly telling you that what you call ‘our democracy’ has been thoroughly subverted by a tiny elite who use their extreme wealth to capture the process.
Partly – yes. But to a large extent because most voters vote like sheep for the “same old”. The people let it happen.
I saw a FB post this morning where a young person suggested many young people force change by only voting for small parties, disempowering the large parties. Something like that is doable and it could change things dramatically within two months using our current system.
Use MMP instead of letting parties abuse MMP.
Electorate vote: don’t consider party, vote for the best person for the electorate. That will increase the quality of MPs in parliament.
Party vote: spread the power across multiple parties so:
– any important legislation has to be negotiated
– parties and MPs are forced to pay far more atention to their electorates and voters
Occupying city centres may achieve something eventually, but they don’t look like the can reach consensus on anything important by the election.
Occupying the polls is where the immediate power is. We can have a revolution right now if enough of us want to.
Y’know, looking through the various demands, there seems to be two currents of thought or approach to them. There is the reformist approach that would have each demand tackled on a case by case basis. And there is, what I would term ‘the demand of the demands’, which is for democracy.
If efficacious democratic structures, that were participated in by both reformers and revolutionaries, were to gain ascendancy over our current representative structures, then all of the demands would be satisfied.
eg a democratic economy simply cannot produce the situations or results we see around us today.
It’s a curious irony that reformers are actively engaging in revolutionary activity (developing and refining meaningfully democratic structures), all the while calling for mere reform. 🙂
I don’t think we could function as a country in the world as a total participatory democracy, because that rules out capitalism and market – which I know is what some Occupiers want to eliminate.
I don’t think adjusting the exchange rate based on popular vote would work very well. Neither would justice.
And the biggest problem is the allocation of resources, it is not feasible to allocate benefits by consensus, and it wouldn’t work very well if 51% of people voted to give themsleves all the benefits.
Do you understand that the market is not a natural phenomena? That a market economy is only one among a number of possible economies? And that the market, as a mechanism for production and distribution has deeply deliterious effects both on the overwhelming majority of people alive on this planet today as well as for the natural environment?
Here’s a link to an intro for another economy. (the vid on the top right of the page) It’s not strident ‘bible bashing’ nonsense. Please do watch it if you have the broadband capacity. I’d be very curious to hear your reaction / initial thoughts.
He talks about the level of participation being relative to how much something affects you, I agree with that, as opposed to the global one size fits everything approach.
Councils – a different name for a common idea. I want to set up an electorate council, one that different community and business councils can feed ideas and opinions into. As an MP I would then take directions from the electorate council to the parliamentary council. A bottom up approach to politics rather than a party down approach. That’s why party people either don’t understand or actively oppose some of the ideas I float here – standard practice is to attack the messenger.
There’s a lot in that and I’ll have to keep going back to it. It has inspired certainly more curiosity, but more than that. Too much for one comment here. Interested in meeting?
it is not feasible to allocate benefits by consensus,
Yes it is. Using modern technology and the internet it is possible to bring about a democratic economy where resources are allocated by votes rather than through money.
Or by having communities material demands weighed against productive possibilities. (Consumer councils and producer councils). And having the resultant information pass back and forth between the variously affected consumer and production councils until a balance is achieved.
So if 2000 tonnes of pig iron will be needed by various workplaces looking to produce for the needs of communities, but the producer coouncils n the primary sector say that only 1500 tonnes will be able to be produced, then the various consumer and production councils affected by that pass altered demands and possibilities back and forth until the total need falls in line with productive possibilities.
This can be done without concentrating the information flow through a set of people (as happens in a command economy) and so sidesteps ‘information as power’ problems.
So we continue with 1% voting to give all the benefits to offshore investors while they get the crumbs. And the rest of us continue towards third world status.
In fact the evidence shows that given the power, the majority, on the whole, make more sensible decisions than a few group thinkers.
And. As no right turn says. “At the end of the day, even if it is wrong, it is our decision to make”.
Your answer just shows the usual politicians hubris.
Why do you think you have any better right, or competence, to make decisions about our future than the rest of us?
In my expeienced many, probably most employees don’t want the extra responsibilities and time commitment of running a business, they are happy to work for a wage or salary.
Given that a huge number of former employees have moved into their own contracting, consulting or self employed businesses in the last 20 years, this sounds like horse shit.
Many NZ managers don’t have sufficient expertise to make sensible management decisions.
FIFY
e.g. Pike River, Rena disaster, Southern Canterbury Finance (and subsequent bail out), etc
But are they rigid? There are many different business structures and degrees of involvement of staff in management and ownership.
Yes they are rigid. While there are alternatives that Bill, DtB and myself have pointed to, in this country at least, there are very few actual examples in action. Every business organisation I’ve run into (and that’s hundreds at least) follow the same top down shareholder/director/executive/middle management/worker model everwhere.
In small privately held SME’s there’s more likelihood of these rigid demarcations being blurred somewhat… but certainly never in any decent sized corporate I’ve experienced. Bill is right that while the ownership structure of Fonterra is a cooperative, the actual production side certainly isn’t. As DtB puts it, socialism is fine for the farmers… but not for their workers.
Contemporary business councils represent elites (obviously). And contemporary community councils are not composed of people from particular geographically located communities.
As such, neither is a meaningful expression of democracy. So why consult with them? And why position yourself ‘above’ them, ie in a representative position?
They have already disempowered the citizenry by claiming to be our voice. Your attempt to represent their views (representation lacking legitimacy in the first instance anyway) compounds our disempowerment by legitimising their position.
The producer councils in parecon are composed of workers (there being no bosses)
Community councils in parecon are composed of citizens from geographcal locations.
Most people would be particpants in both consumer (community) councils and producer councils.
And they would not conduct their dialogue through intermediaries.
In an environment where workers are not given any information or access to decision making processes, and often spend 8 + hours doing rote, soul destroying shit, then they ‘work to live’.
Where there is information and empowerment (no bosses) and no requirement to do only brain deadening tasks over and over (mixed job complexes), then that whole disempowered and disengaged ‘actually (a-hem) happy to go to work, earn a wage and not worry about the running of the business ‘ approach withers.
And if you don’t believe that to be the case, then show me the person who gives up empowering and interesting work to do shit.
Many people are actually happy to go to work, earn a wage and not worry about the running of the business.
Are you sure about that?
From all the whinging about the bosses and their bad decisions I’d say that a lot more people than you think would be willing to have a say. In fact I think that you’ll find that the only reason why they don’t engage in the running of the business now is because of the dictatorial way that business is set up.
I don’t buy that Bill. I’ve worked for large and small companies at varying levels including management, I have been self employed and I have owned businesses in partnership.
In my expeienced many, probably most employees don’t want the extra responsibilities and time commitment of running a business, they are happy to work for a wage or salary. Many workers don’t have sufficient expertise to make sensible management decisions.
Do you know how many workers would actually want what you suggest? If you know of some, I’d like to know why they haven’t set up their own co-operatives, they are free to try that.
Really, Bill, I’ve spoken to lots of peasants and they’re actually happier that we make the big decisions for them. Most of them just aren’t suited to running an estate, so we’re doing them a favour. /sarc
Co-operatives are set up all the time. Admittedly, there aren’t many examples I can point to in NZ, but in the UK, across Europe and in the US and Australia they are fairly common.
I don’t know why it is so markedly different in NZ, but hey.
But lets say a the idea of a co-op is suggested (funded through people pooling their redundancy compensation and taking over their old workplace for example).
Well, maybe people in NZ have no tradition or experience to fall back on and no examples to look at and learn from. With the internet, the lack of local examples is not an insurmountable problem….experiences, suggestions and advise can be ‘imported’ via the net.
But it’s difficult to get to that point because far too many people have internalised the crushing judgement of the type you yourself make in your comment when you assert that “workers don’t have sufficient expertise to make sensible management decisions.”
Now, such judgements or assertions are absolute fucking tosh and don’t apply in the case of a collective or co-op. For a start, one person management systems are gone. They don’t exist.
That means decisions are made via inclusive and democratic structures. Now lets say we are talking of some small factory setting that has been taken over. Jo can’t read. Jo can’t write. (this is the case for many semi and non skilled workers) Can Jo make a contribution to decisions? Of course! People like Jo are specialists in the parts of the system of production that they have been forced to work for 10 or 15 or 20 years. They know more about its limitations and potentials than any manager ever did.
And in a collective, Jo isn’t going to be forced to remain doing the same old monotonous shit all day every day. By developing a more varied work ‘routine’ that includes some of everything that is required to make a workplace run (and that’s far more than just filling order books), Jo becomes empowered and also gains experience and confidence. And when jo can read and write, even more opportunities for more variety and more empowerment present themselves.
And if you had been the former boss? You could still be there. But you would be no more the boss than Jo. Both you and Jo and every other worker would fulfill and excercises that function co-operatively and democratically. And just as Jo is learning new shit, so would you and everyone else be too.
Many small business partnerships could be regarded as a form of co-operative. Maybe that changes if the business employs someone but that would rule Fonterra out too.
Nah. Not Fontera. It isn’t a co-op in any meaningful sense. The vertical divisions of labour and the specialised niches (where power resides) and general disempowerment of most persist
Many workers don’t have sufficient expertise to make sensible management decisions.
Is it the lack of expertise or because arseholes like you put them down destroying their self-confidence?
…I’d like to know why they haven’t set up their own co-operatives, they are free to try that.
If they’ve got the resources available to them which they probably don’t because the 1% have appropriated all the wealth.
Remarkable how socialist our farming friends are actually.
Oh, they love socialism – for themselves. They’re quite happy to take handouts from the government (us) they just don’t want to have to pay for them and work to ensure that everybody else does.
So Kolind abolished the formal organization. Projects, not functions or departments, became the defining unit of work. Today at Oticon, teams form, disband, and form again as the work requires. Project leaders (basically, anyone with a compelling idea) compete to attract the resources and people to deliver results. Project owners (members of the company’s 10-person management team) provide advice and support, but make few actual decisions. The company has a hundred or so projects at any one time, and most people work on several projects at once. It is, essentially, a free market in work.
Kim Hill did a feature interview with Kolind back in the 90’s some time… it was remarkably thought-provoking. I’m unsure how his innovative management ideas have stood the test of time, but Oticon still remains a world leader in hearing technology.
The point is, the rigid corporate hierarchy we unthinkingly accept as the ‘only way’.. isn’t. There are alternatives that are a lot more effective.
But are they rigid? There are many different business structures and degrees of involvement of staff in management and ownership. It’s up to those involved to structure it how they want, and it’s up to employees to work for the corporation or not. It’s totally impractical to change this by forcing specific ways of structuring and managing and owning.
petegeorge,n. & v.t.1. Being obtuse in the extreme, inane; divert, deflect, evade question and introduce irrelevance; refuse to commit to stance; draw off attention of (from one embarrassment to another); distract, confuse, obfuscate; (he ~ s every attempt at discussion)2. Male sexual organ of gibbon. Hence ~MENT, ~IFICATION [21st c orig unknown]
1. Establish a consensus that there is a need for change.
2. Figure out what needs to be changed. Again by consensus.
3. Invite ideas and positive changes from the shop floor.
4. Managers should act as facilitators and supporters of change agents.
Lasting and effective changes, need to have the active support of the majority of the workforce, at all levels.
Authoritarian managers are rarely effective at making lasting changes. People always find a way to derail changes they do not support.
Despite some of the best research on Management and Leadership coming from the USA. Places like the USA, NZ and UK ignore it. Leaving effective implementation to Germany, Japan and Scandinavia.
It is strange that despite all the research that says they are less effective, the cult of the Authoritarian Manager/National Leader still remains. Maybe the answer lies in the research about Authoritarian followers. Those who like certainty, even if it is leading them into a country like Somalia.
OWS is at stage 1 at present.
What is frightening politicians, who dream of absolute power, is they know OWS will grow.
We will soon see the solution is democracy. Very scary for those who have been ripping us of while accepting a Parliamentary salary from us.
Why should we leave our future up to a power hungry, greedy minority.
I agree with most of what you say. I initially approached Occupy Dunedin because I thought I shared some of their ideals and aims – in fact I still think (and have told them) that in theory our aims to address a lack of democratic process are similar, we are just taking different approaches.
But I discovered I have a major difference with what they want to achieve.
I am trying to join and change our current democracy by democratic means.
Some in OD (and OA) at an organisational level want to scrap our current democracy and replace it with their own ideal – which sounds much like communism to me. And they are not exactly doing it in a democratic way. If you haven’t already read Bill’s post and all of his comments:
I think the Occupy movement should be open and honest about what they are doing. As should the Mana Party. And the Green Party should clarify their position.
Our current system of Government. IS NOT A DEMOCRACY.
Nothing wrong with the ideals of communism. Or Democratically regulated capitalism, either.
Both or a mixed economy all work, when people have democratic control.
The most successful States ever, in delivering prosperity and a fair stable society to all their citizens have been the mixed socialist democracies of Western Europe.
Why are you so scared of communism. Or do you conflate communism with the Authoritarian Dictatorships of Cuba, Russia and Zimbabwe, which were no closer to the communist ideal than our society is to Democracy.
I hope they aren’t using management 101 as outlined above. It’s been around since the seventies and has consistently returned only short term results. The model is especially easily infiltrated and then turned towards normal authoritarian hierarchial forms.
Personally, I think the problem is that the system used to unite the people is inherently bonded to the world view of the leaders/managers/facilitators. To find a long term solution to the destructiveness of capitalism, you’d have to find a universal language of morals/ethics, at least. We all know how difficult that has been/would be. No one agrees, no one knows where to look, and many get hysterical at the thought of there even being a right and wrong, on the off-chance that what they do is wrong and their enemies, right. (speaking in the context of short term human lifespan.)
Early examples of management 101 have been pushed by the personalities of the leaders/managers and their development. Eventually they outgrow the people they’re helping and the people, of varying degrees of self awareness, then descend into the doubt/stall/chaos that signals new beginnings. At that point the people are weakened and cast about for the ideas of the good old days, not realising that those ideas are single use, time and situation specific, solutions. This wouldn’t be a problem if self-interest and greed were not inherent human conditions.
The fastest way to end the OWS movement would be to define it’s goals or organise a set of leaders. Or to use an old mangement theory slogan, they should use the “both tight and loose” model: Being aware of what needs to be done on an individual level, also aware of collective participation, but not trying too hard to force it when it looks like it’s deviating. Lasting change begins with the individual making daily decisions to influence their world in a new way.
To find a long term solution to the destructiveness of capitalism, you’d have to find a universal language of morals/ethics, at least.
Lasting change begins with the individual making daily decisions to influence their world in a new way.
Morals/ethics in a secular world.
Except I wouldn’t say “destructiveness of capitalism” – not all capitalism is destructive, just as not all socialism is a failure. I think we need to try and find the best balance of isms and thenj keep striving and adjusting in a changing world.
It is believers in religions who seem to have flexible ethics. For instance.
“Thou” shalt not kill. Unless it is someone who disagrees with our religion!
“We believe in personal responsibility”. “Except when it is our fault”.
“Jesus Christ wants me to be rich”
“We believe in capitalism”. “Until it fails. Then the socialists can bail us out”.
All of these ideas are very much minority opinions amongst ‘religious’ people, confined mostly to the American right, (contrary to popular Standardista belief, most Christianity in NZ is leftist, not rightist). In fact even in the USA, a significant chunk of Christianity is leftist – have you ever heard of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement, or of Tony Campolo and Brian McLaren?
I call bigotry, KJT…
I suppose it is not surprising that followers of Authoritarian Fundamentalist Religions, Catholicism, Neo-Liberalism, Brethren etc. react with personal attacks and denigration when they are exposed.
They also, all seem to be obsessed with regulating others sex lives. And have a fear of Women.
I do not have the numbers, but I doubt very much that the majority of church goers, even in NZ, are leftist. Definitely not in the USA.
I know several Christians and Muslims, who I like and respect, who follow the ethical teachings of their respective church founders. Who agree with me about organised, establishment, religion. Though I suspect they would be moral and thoughtful people no matter what their religious beliefs, or lack of them.
I do not have the numbers, but I doubt very much that the majority of church goers, even in NZ, are leftist. Definitely not in the USA.
That’s an interesting question. In my experience it’s a very mixed bag. The fundamentalist churches are as a rule very authoratarian and conservative, and while they tend to be rather noisy and visible it’s not clear where the numbers lie.
Then there are of course the main-stream Christian churches like the Presbyterians, Anglicans and Methodists who still retain a strong, sometimes surprisingly liberal, social justice agenda. And you also get confounding groups such as the Salvation Army, who while dressing up in a strongly authoritarian regalia… actually deliver a lot of useful social services on the ground. (I’ll refrain from mentioning the Catholic Church here because I really don’t have an informed opinion on them..)
Sitting in the pews most people avoid being too political. Fellowship with others is more important than winning an argument, so for the most part church goers eschew overt discussion of politics. But it’s my experience that while most are relatively conservative in terms of personal behaviour, that doesn’t necessarily translate into their wider political convictions about a ‘just and sanctified society’.
Most mature believers I know hold quite clear views about the greed and excessive materialism that grips much of the secular world. Indeed it’s worth remembering that the first Labour party meetings were held in Methodist church halls, and that generation of trade unionists and reformers were often motivated by a muscular Christian belief in justice.
Traditionally in New Zealand (up to the 1980s), Anglican and Presbyterian regular church-goers voted National,
while Roman Catholics, Protestant Non-Conformists and Athiests/Agnostics/Non-Church-goers voted Labour.
More recently, the New Zealand Election Survey data (Elections 1984-2002) suggest that regular church-goers in general are much more likely to vote for The Political Right than everyone else (although among these regular church-goers there remains a slight division, Catholics and Methodists still being a little less likely to vote Nact than other Protestants). The religious demographic most likely to vote Green is the Non-Christian Religious vote (which presumably includes the vast majority of Buddhists and probably New Age types, as well as perhaps Muslim and Hindu voters, including recent migrants).
They also, all seem to be obsessed with regulating others sex lives. And have a fear of Women.
And yet, and yet, so many of us are women! (Including me). Why do you think that is?
I do not have the numbers, but I doubt very much that the majority of church goers, even in NZ, are leftist. Definitely not in the USA.
Yet whether you wish to believe it, and you evidently don’t, it’s true! I never said the majority of American Christians are leftists. Don’t misquote me, I am sick of being misquoted here..
Cos you reckon we women are like, too ‘dumb’ to think things through, so we have to have been stockholmed? Men… bless you all, but I hate being patronised…
The point is that most of our structures ignore the points I made above.
Instead of following best practice for making change.
You are ignoring my point that successful changes are always from the bottom up. The Neo-Liberal elite know this. Even though they do not follow it.
That is why they are so terrified of a mass movement for change.
Ultimately any structures or changes not supported by the majority will fail. The Soviet Union failed from within. And so will the Neo-Liberal corporate State.
Change is continually imposed from the top by a few people who are either nakedly self interested (NACT) or who believe we should be forced to act in the way they believe we should be (Some on the other side). I suspect they are just as self interested, but are motivated by a desire for power.
(Why my calls for Democracy are just as unpopular on almost any political party site).
maybe they should join Untitled Fairytales UFs motto is Vagueness being upfront and honest yeah right PG your just a grovellers for soft national votes
Sadly I thought they were actual phone texts (or textses as Key would say). The original articles aren’t that comprehensive! Still , worth wading into…
Pretty much, life’s pretty sweet for Pete. Just one little tweak:
More power and money for Pete George.
But he’s working on that now, and that’s what all this boring bullshit is all about. There’s no point in debating anything with him because he doesn’t give a flying fuck. All the empty slogans and dog-whistle bigotry, and interminable blah blah blah is just about raising his profile to that one end.
My pick is that he’ll end up in council. As if there aren’t enough self-serving blowhards there already.
Why should we accept a rule of law that is
1. Imposed by a very small minority.
2. Imposed for the benefit of an even smaller minority.
3. We have almost no power to change.
“The law, in its wisdom, deals equally with the rich and the poor. Both are forbidden to sleep under a bridge”.
Or to quote another famous man. “If voting made any difference they would abolish it”.
It is democratic – there are many forms of democracy.
Everything cannot be decided by everyone:
– not everyone can be bothered being a part of the process
– there are far too many things to be decided
– some things require immediate action and don’t have time for democracy eg if a container ship hits a reef there is no time for a referendum
So what we really should be talking about is what balance of representative democracy and direct democracy would suit us best.
It is not the case in a democracy that everything is decided by everyone. Everyone participates in those decisions that affect them to the extent they are affected by them.
If you’re workplace or community is making some decision that will have no effect on me, then why would I be a party to those decisions?
Parliament should be our administration. To implement what we decide.
To return to a business model. The manager makes day to day decisions, but the general direction and priorities should be set by the board.
An administration can make decisions where they are immediately required, but the direction should be set by us. E.G. In the case of a ship hitting a reef we decide what the priorities should be beforehand. Our democratically decided priority may have been that we do not allow ships on our coast that the US coastguard would have turned away.
There are not many forms of Democracy. There is Democracy and there are various systems of rotating dictatorships that claim to be Democracy.
There is no such thing as representative Democracy. It is an oxymoron.
If you want a model. The Swiss one is the closest. Delivered years of peace and a stable prosperous society.
Decision making starts at the town and Canton level for things that only affect that area.
Despite all the evidence, that top down authoritarian structures are the least effective in good decision making, we still persist with them.
The Swiss one is the closest. Delivered years of peace and a stable prosperous society.
It has some good democratic ideas but hardly stellar –
“Women were granted the right to vote in the first Swiss cantons in 1959, at the federal level in 1971 and, after resistance, in the last canton Appenzell Innerrhoden in 1990.”
I visited Appenzell last year, interesting place. They are well known for their Landsgemeinden, open air democratic assemblies.
The lateness in giving votes to Women reflects their society.
The votes against taxation in California reflects their society. Other referendum states in the USA have voted for the impeachment of austerity Governments and more taxation.
A Democracy in NZ would reflect our society.
Which values fairness, looking after our children and elderly, and equality. Or we did before the Neo-Liberal meanness took over.
In NZ votes for women, like homosexual law reform and the several other advances were held up by Parliamentary conservatives, not a majority of voters.
NZ society also values hard work and hates those who can’t be bothered to make the effort (‘bludgers’). New Zealand society has always expected people receiving state help to make an effort for themselves.
This is the unconscious meme that National has always played to, and very successfully.
And one that Labour has failed to address adequately.
And this is not a new trait for NZ. Remember, if you were given a state house in Savage’s time, you were responsible for properly looking after the house and its gardens to a high standard of tidiness, or risk losing it.
So what we really should be talking about is what balance of representative democracy and direct democracy would suit us best.
BS, that’s what you think suits you best. How about this:
We fire the representatives but keep the government departments. The government departments then ask us what we want to do with the resources we have available (Note: Resources, not money) and we vote upon that.
In this system the government departments do the day to day administration (responding to accidents and other things that require immediate action) using rules and regulations that we’ve collectively voted upon as their guide and the resources we’ve allowed them to use. Everything that they do is, of course, published.
On top of that because we know what resources the country has available we also get to vote on how those resources are used and distributed – in trade, in R&D, etc, etc.
Why don’t you find out what level popular support you would get for that? If it was overwhelmingly supported in Dunedin North I would support it, but I would also advocate strongly for checks and balances. Any system has it’s weaknesses and downsides and unforeseen problems so you need safeguards..
Ever considered that’s what the Occupy movement is about? They want to get rid of the present system and they want democracy. No, of course you didn’t, you just called them names and told them to go away as they were upsetting you.
And I noticed that you pulled one of your no answer answers there. Tell me, have you got a patent on that yet?
The checks and balances in a democracy is the collective knowledge of everyone who is interested in a particular policy.
In our “representative democracy”. Parliament is supreme. At the end of the day a group of determined nutters/facilitators of moneyed theft, can hijack the whole thing. They did in 1884. And are at the verge of doing it again. Helped by outright lies in the media their masters own.
I am advocating for democracy. The mix of State and private ownership is something for the majority to decide looking at evidence of what works best.
The market works fine in some situations where one player cannot naturally dominate. The State works better for infrastructure and public good.
Criminal convictions for politicians and journalists who are ‘economical with the truth” will help the public with good decision making.
In Switzerland politicians now they have to back up decisions convincingly with evidence, or they will be overturned by referenda.
Labour + Green have more than National at 37.3% (National at 36.8)
Will Colin Craig’s Conservative Party beat ACT? They do have a pretty nice brochure and I have heard from some people they plan to vote CP based on the lovely brochure.
Will Chauvel beat Dunne? Will Banks be Spanked? Why have 10% of Labour voters gone to National?
Striking parallels to NZs own proceeds from crimes act – the burden of proof being shifted to the defendant with forfeiture being the default, and seized monies going to enforcement agencies (tho in NZ this is split between the crown and the police.
This incentive to seize must be removed (all funds to go instead towards mitigation of social harm via, for example health agencies) and forfeiture strictly limited – the law is not supposed achive compliance in the community by behaving like a feudal lord who intimidates and impoverishes the people of the realm willfully, or on a whim, to expand a control apparatus or an empire.
who is the dreamer claiming 10% of labour voters have gone national.
I dont think so.
National is engaging in a class war of the nastiest sort aided and abetted by the media who of course have a vested interest in retailing unneeded gew gaws and gimcracks to the unsuspecting.
Only Labour can save the day.
Kelsey says the real risks lie in the cross-fertilisation of these ‘regulatory disciplines’ with other TPPA chapters. The ‘transparency’ chapter would guarantee foreign investors input into New Zealand regulatory decisions, while the ‘investment’ chapter could allow foreign investors to sue the government in private offshore tribunals if it proceeded with new regulations that eroded the investment’s value or profitability.
Everyone knows David Cameron is a lizard. So why does the Telegraph continue to deny the truth?
Don’t just take my word for it. Ask all those who have seen the reptilian demon in action
Last week, during the opening preamble to a fairly pedestrian whinge about glitzy BBC promo trails, I called Prime Minister David Cameron a “pitiless blank-eyed hell-wraith” and described his familiar evening ritual: a stomach-churning rite which opens with ceremonial skin-shedding and climaxes with the swallowing of a live foal.
So far, so utterly reasonable. But Graeme Archer of the Daily Telegraph was less than impressed. In a riposte entitled “Charlie Brooker and the Tragedy of the Modern Left”, he wrote that he was appalled that “Mr. Brooker felt the need to spend four paragraphs to tell us that the Prime Minister is, in fact, a lizard [and] that he is served by lizards who aid him in the consumption of live flesh once the sun goes down.”
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
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Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
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It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
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Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the Māori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Government’s decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield – demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workers’ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Government’s blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? – W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Let’s explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last November’s 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Eden Denyer, bookseller at Unity Books Auckland.Weirdest question/request you’ve had on the shop floorA mother came in looking for anything we might have on Alaskan bison as that was her little boy’s ...
NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s hyperbolic presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they don’t care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didn’t give a “rat’s derriere” about a TVNZ ...
Asia Pacific Report Ngāti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous Māori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a “ceasefire in Palestine”, reports Te Ao Māori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te Otāne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
By Dale Luma in Port Moresby “We want grants and not concessional loans,” is the crisp message from Papua New Guinea businesses directly affected by the Black Wednesday looting four months ago. The businesses, which lost millions after the January 10 rioting and looting, say they need grants as part ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: What’s worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are “heartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year – why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi Tū discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealand’s media industry. The principal’s key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? That’s how it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury The Conversation It seems to be a time of old favourites. This month our experts have recommended two new seasons – the second season of Alone Australia (although ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland A bright Eta Aquariid meteor photobombed this photo of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in May 2020.Jonti Horner Meteors – commonly known as shooting stars – can be seen on any night of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Current concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Earth’s atmosphere are unprecedented in human history. But CO₂ levels today, and those that might occur in coming decades, did occur millions of years ago. ...
Winston Peters has been keen to dismiss speculation on our involvement in Aukus but will give a speech tonight on the direction of our foreign policy, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Usmar, Lecturer in Critical Media Literacies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With the coalition government’s ban of student mobile phones in New Zealand schools coming into effect this week, reaction has ranged from the sceptical (kids will just get ...
Hospitals around the country are not allowed to make a single hiring decision without the approval of Te Whatu Ora's head office, including for cleaners and administration staff. ...
A new report on protecting journalism and democracy in New Zealand recommends a levy be charged on global platforms like Facebook and Google to fund media firms undertaking public interest reporting. It also calls for the reinstatement of a powerful Broadcasting Commission to distribute public funding for journalism and other ...
On International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi and the wider union movement are celebrating the proud history of the labour movement during a tough time for working people. ...
From bills to beards, a walk through the former Green co-leader’s time in politics. After close to a decade in politics, James Shaw is preparing to bid farewell to parliament. Tonight will see the former minister deliver his valedictory address, certain to be a speech filled with Shaw’s trademark wit ...
Two months ago, MPs unanimously voted to give themselves a week off in Efeso Collins’ honour. On Tuesday, most were too busy to give even an hour of their time. The day Fa’anānā Efeso Collins died, parliament felt different. In a building that operates at a breakneck pace, everyone stopped ...
India’s election involves hundreds of millions of people and is a months-long affair. Here’s how voting works and what’s at stake.The biggest-ever election in world history started on April 19, with more than 10% of the world’s population eligible to vote. Elections in India, the world’s most populous country ...
Opinion: The impression from the carpark is very inviting. The area is well fenced but barred so there is easy visibility of loved ones. Inside, the spaces are welcoming and clean and staff are friendly and clearly comfortable. I am greeted by ‘Kim’. She has worked here for three years, ...
After the Christchurch earthquake, the then-national civil defence boss compared his experience to “putting a team on the rugby field who have never ever played together before”. Now, eight years later – and following a damning inquiry into the emergency response of cyclones Gabrielle, Hale and the Auckland anniversary weekend floods – ...
“I had just come off the end of a major robbery case which I had been working on for six months when I got a call on the afternoon of September 1, 1992, that some remains had been found at a building site in Devonport, so I drove over with ...
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Comment: Journalists are very good at telling other people’s stories, but they fall well short when writing about their own profession. Perhaps that is why it is so undervalued. Every successive poll on the public’s attitude toward journalism is more alarming than the last. In the last month we have ...
Opinion: A young Māori woman and her Pacific partner arrive at their local hospital by ambulance. She has gone into labour at just under 24 weeks, but the couple haven’t recognised the symptoms – and don’t know the risks of premature birth for their baby. By the time they arrive, ...
Behind closed doors, NZ First will be arguing fiercely against any watering down of the ministerial decision-making powers in the Bill The post Bishop backtracks after fast-track backlash appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Just heard David Cameron has cancelled his trip to NZ…
And Brash is going over there …
A knowledgeable friend of mine says that the banking system is on the verge of collapse.
The FT reported on October 9 (behind a paywall)
“David Cameron has urged European leaders to take a “big bazooka” approach to resolving the eurozone crisis, warning they have just a matter of weeks to avert economic disaster.
The UK prime minister wants France and Germany to bury their differences and to adopt before the end of the year what he claims would be a decisive five-point plan to end the uncertainty, which was having a “chilling effect” on the
world economy.”
Guess Cameron has more important things to do than to come to NZ to help Key’s reelection prospects.
Here is my take on Don Brash’s sudden trip to the powers that be!
Soros sums it up neatly in the New York Review of Books:
The euro crisis is a direct consequence of the crash of 2008. When Lehman Brothers failed, the entire financial system started to collapse and had to be put on artificial life support. This took the form of substituting the sovereign credit of governments for the bank and other credit that had collapsed. At a memorable meeting of European finance ministers in November 2008, they guaranteed that no other financial institutions that are important to the workings of the financial system would be allowed to fail, and their example was followed by the United States.
Angela Merkel then declared that the guarantee should be exercised by each European state individually, not by the European Union or the eurozone acting as a whole. This sowed the seeds of the euro crisis because it revealed and activated a hidden weakness in the construction of the euro: the lack of a common treasury. The crisis itself erupted more than a year later, in 2010.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/oct/13/does-euro-have-future/
Steven Keen addressing Occupy Sydney. (Starts 10 min in.)
The more I listen to Steven the more impressed I am. I’m wondering if he’s not the Maynard Keynes of our generation.
Incidentally the Aussie cops have moved in to shut the protest down…
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10761048
Brash flying overseas to chat about how to fix the world’s economy. Last ditch effort to shake out some ideas that might interest voters? Desperate attempt to avoid RWC overload? Had to use up some air dollars before the expired?
Meeting with Crosby Textor with the sole agenda item “what the fuck do we do now”?
he’s leaving so ACT can have another coup and ditch the dinosaurs
Radio NZ has an interesting program coming up at 10:00am today.
Thanks for the tip. Interesting history of the NZ Labour movement and government suppression.
I first heard of Joe Hill when I saw Joan Baez sing the song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKU3AOs0z-A
in the Woodstock movie in 71/72. It was one of the stand-out performances in the movie.
What a pity I missed that. I am sure it will be on audio though. I couldn’t stand any more victorious rugby commentary and turned off before the radio found a talking kea to give a squawk on the matter. But it was a great win. France rose and scored so well in the second half and the All Blacks stood firm with a win on their home ground for this auspicious NZ event.
Enough said.
I think it’s time for the Occupy movement in New Zealand to be open about what their motives are. They seem to be trying to establish support based on extended vagueness. It’s time they were up front and honest.
Occupy Auckland – no politics except a New World Order?
Pete, I am certain that the bogie man is lurking somewhere amongst the OWS movement in NZ, he will come and burn down your house and destroy the status quo you so adore, you are so right to be paranoid about the OWS motives.
Meanwhile as you focus on and scan the OWSers motives, some banker is helping himself to large rewards by defrauding YOU of all your cash. Get the picture?
Actually some banks somewhere have enabled me to own the property I’m living on (establishing a degree of self sustainability). I’m sure you have benefited from a bank sometime too. Yes, there are valid issues with international banking (and politics and business). But without them the world would not be able to function sufficiently to support it’s population.
Don’t you think it’s hypocritical to discourage political comment on the surface but to be actively involved in destroying our democracy and replacing it with communism?
What about being supportive of going beyond a representative parliamentary democracy, which is no democracy at all by any meaningful use of the term, and building substantive participatory democratic structures?
Know what I mean Pete? Democracy whereby we each have an input into decisions that affect our daily lives to the extent that we will be, or are likely to be, affected? Partcipatory democratic structures in our communities and workplaces and in our schools and unversities etc.
A polity and economy whose shapes and actions are determined by democratic participation on the part of us all rather than by a few excercising the power that is concentrated in them by present configurations.
Attempting to formulate a democracy that is immediate, real and empowering in the stead of the disempowering representative systems we labour within at present, is surely worth engaging in and supporting, no?
Yes, I know what you mean Bill, because something very similar to that is what I have been proposing for Dunedin for the last six months and is what I am offering to help implement if I’m elected. And if I’m not elected it will be a bit harder but I’ll still be trying.
If a participatory model of democracy can be established and proven at electorate level it may then spread to other electorates and grow into a new national way.
I still think this makes much more sense than some in Occupy who suggest we scrap everything and start again, with no way of knowing what may eventuate. I went to OD with a lot of interest becasue I thought we were on a common quest, but I was very disappointed with their narrow idealism and preference for destructive revolution.
Tell me, how does having a “bank” allow the world to support the human population which is presently estimated to be in excess of sustainable capacity by about 6 billion?
“They seem to be trying to establish support based on extended vagueness.”
Oh, the irony!
😆
Aye TVOR
Do you know Petey how often various commenters try to pin you down to try and work out what you actually believe. And you twist and turn like a twisty turny thing and never commit.
Maybe Petey is a fifth columnist for the occupation movement?
And everyone diverts from what is going on.
Are you happy to see Mana and possibly Greens using the Occupy label to campaign for the election? Did you see McCarten’s column in the Herald yesterday?
And everyone diverts from what is going on.
Petey you are without exception the best diverter I have seen on the web.
Shock horror, left wing parties believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with our economic order and want to do something about it.
I think there is something fundamentally wrong with many things, and would like to try and do something about them.
I also think there may be something fundamentally wrong with Occupy NZ. Scrapping our democracy and scrapping capitalism is a bit radical don’t you think? Do you want our democracy scrapped?
Have you heard of 11.11.11?
No, we want better democracy and to get rid of the failed capitalist (see that “financial” collapse out there? That’s capitalism failing – again) paradigm.
What’s that? Armistice Day? 🙂
Someone asked about this and must have deleted. McCarten:
“Last Saturday, a core group of 200 Aucklanders set up an Occupy camp in Auckland’s Aotea Square. They intend to stay there around the clock until Election Day.”
And to avoid vagueness – McCarten, Unite, Mana, Occupy
you see a big conspiracy, a plot, but have you ever thought that maybe the Mana Party have declared that part of their approach is to target non-voters, those who feel disinfranchised by the system you idolalise. Surely you would encourage everyone to vote, to exercise their rights, and if a political party offers representation then surely that is good and proper – that those previous non-voters now vote for whomever they want to. It seems your just being peevish because the occupiers didn’t bow down to you and exhalt you as some messiah – they actually had their own ideas and yours didn’t fit and because of that you have embarked on a sour vendetta. Tell me it ain’t so pete?
Pretty much every you say here ain’t so, except that I do encourage everyone to vote. And I encourage all parties to be open about how they campaign.
Pete you say this below inanother thread
“And people involved and organisations involved are not exactly hiding what they want – scrap our democracy and replace it with their democracy – a version where nothing seems to be decided, not in the open anyway.
People involved talk open about revolution. And they talk openly about their preferred communist-like utopia.”
so they are ‘not exactly hiding’ what they want and banners are being flown and people are talking to others and somehow all this is not open. You seem to not have any idea that people with these ideas exist – they are communist – that quaint term. That leads me to think there is another real issue that you are not saying – what the hell is it so we can stop the bullshitting around.
Occupy jumped into this without thinking some things through. They are learning that if they want to generate momentum as a generic popuolar movement they have to walk the walk, and sideline activists oushing their personal barrows.
Highlighting hypocrisy and bad images helps them, if they react smartly. Occupy Dunedin got a bad image as being a doped hazed party pad – they have now tried to ban pot and alcohol. Someone has just reported they have taken down the Mana banners. I don’t know about the Socialist sign. They told me have put up a banner clarifying their “visible support” position.
Saying “excuse me, isn’t your political situation hypocritical” didn’t get any reaction. Highlighting and publicising it did.
If the Occupies keep dealing with and learning from mistakes they will improve and they may grow, to become popular they need to overcome a bad start. Many people in Dunedin don’t look at them favourably.
I suggest you have a read of the history of the French Revolution. It really is required reading for anyone interested in politics.
You can of course point to the period of the “Terror” in which tens of thousands were guillotined and fairly conclude that violent revolutions are a bad thing. You could indeed say that the mob who stormed the Bastille really hadn’t thought things through.
On the other hand from the point of the French Revolution onward, the ancient idea of monarchy as supreme ruler began an inexorable slide into historical irrelevancy. It is no exaggeration to say the the modern nation state has it’s first real incarnation in the French Republic. So in this sense revolution is a good thing.
Right now the world needs another revolution. The forces of greed and inequality are creating injustice and pressures that will ensure it will happen. The status-quo as you know it and believe in it Pete, is broken. Many people have come to the conclusion that ‘working within the system’ doesn’t get useful results anymore.
So now we have reached the point where the only useful question is what kind of revolution do you want? I’d suggest that if we took the Occupy movement seriously we’d get an exciting and anxious making ride, but with luck the process wouldn’t actually hang too many bankers from actual lamposts.
Ignore them and all bets are off.
Pete. I think these problems are in your own mind.
I could not think of anything more hypocritical than present day politicians who accept public money, while actively working against the best interests of their employers.
A private sector employee who did that would be, rightly, sacked or even convicted.
so you are concerned that the occupy team have made mistakes but why is it hypocritical?
Redlogix – I’m interested in the idea of a modern revolution, in my own small way that’s what I’m trying to stoke. I was attracted by the apparent blank canvas approach of what I understood Occupy to be, and I was disappointed to see that in Dunedin it appeared to be a few activists using it to push their own old barrows.
Should it be revolutions? I’m trying to stoke up a revolution in how people vote. In theory it would be simple to use the exisitng voting system and the imminent election to make potentially a huge impact. The most difficult aspect is overcoming voter apathy.
Hypothetical situation – Peter Dunne wins Ohariu, maybe two or three get in on the UF list, I win Dunedin North, UF ends up holding the balance of power, just. Ordinary person with a strong commitment to representing ordinary people and trialing a more participatory democratic system at electorate level now has significant potential sway.
While there are many possible outcomes of the election the above scenario is quite feasible – if enough voters see the value in it.
Replicate that over several electorates and you start to get the ability to make a significant difference. Revolutionise voting habits and a lot is possible.
“a few activists using it to push their own old barrows”
instead of your old barrow?
When the system is broken working within it just results in nothing being fixed.
No, what you’re trying to do is hold on to the ways of a broken system.
The proportion of voting in western democracies has been declining for some time. I’d say that this is possibly because more and more people see little value in voting in the present system where the only “people” listened to are the psychopathic corporations.
So you don’t see a plot?
Or you don’t realise that Mana are targeting non-voters?
Or you don’t think the occupiers have their own ideas?
If not, then what do you mean by “Pretty much every[thing]you say here ain’t so”?
Although I disagree with much of the reasoning you use to reach your conclusions Pete, on this one point I do agree.
I’d be interested to know whether Matt McCarten was talking of November 15th being the end of Occupy Aotea Square on the back of a decision made by a GA there (in which case fine), or whether he was referring to ongoing ‘official’ involvement by Mana and Unite.
If the latter, then questions of whether those ‘good old’ Leninist strategies are at play really ought to be asked. Particularily by those heavily involved in the Occupations. If (and this is a big if) Mana, Unite and organisations associated with or undepinning Mana and Unite are going to suddenly disappear come November 15, then remaining Occupiers ought to be prepared, both mentally and otherwise for a ‘hole’ suddenly appearing in their spaces.
“extended vagueness” ha..
They do have a point Pete. You might want to have a long hard think about it.
Are you part of the diversion squad?
You might like to think about the concerted (or habitual) diversions from an issue that I am far from vague on.
You started this, so you finish it. You are the one insinuating that the OWS movement has a hidden ulterior agenda, so you tell us what you think it is.
No more vagueness please.
It’s not so hidden – McCarten admits to using it for election campaigning.
And people involved and organisations involved are not exactly hiding what they want – scrap our democracy and replace it with their democracy – a version where nothing seems to be decided, not in the open anyway.
People involved talk open about revolution. And they talk openly about their preferred communist-like utopia.
If you open your eyes it’s not vague beneath the surface.
But instead the diversion and abuse continues, doesn’t it ak.
Nothing in our “democracy” is open – just look at the hidden TPPA talks. It seems to me that the Occupy groups actually want open democracy – a democracy where people have a say and not just the corporations. Yes, it would remove power from the politicians and the rich – this is a Good Thing – but that seems to be your main complaint against it.
scrap our democracy and replace it with their democracy –
Well at the moment it is THEIR democracy, the democracy of the top 1%. Open your ears and you will also see voices plainly telling you that what you call ‘our democracy’ has been thoroughly subverted by a tiny elite who use their extreme wealth to capture the process.
It may not be so obvious or extreme here in NZ just yet, but all the numbers tell us that we are on exactly the same path that has taken the US and Europe into a dead-end where social inequality has become extreme, the financial system is in more or less permanent melt-down mode and real unemployment numbers are at Depression-era levels.
So exactly ‘whose’ democracy is it Pete? And exactly why are you defending it?
It’s far from perfect but we have one of the best democracies there is or has been.
Open your ears and you will also see voices plainly telling you that what you call ‘our democracy’ has been thoroughly subverted by a tiny elite who use their extreme wealth to capture the process.
Partly – yes. But to a large extent because most voters vote like sheep for the “same old”. The people let it happen.
I saw a FB post this morning where a young person suggested many young people force change by only voting for small parties, disempowering the large parties. Something like that is doable and it could change things dramatically within two months using our current system.
Use MMP instead of letting parties abuse MMP.
Electorate vote: don’t consider party, vote for the best person for the electorate. That will increase the quality of MPs in parliament.
Party vote: spread the power across multiple parties so:
– any important legislation has to be negotiated
– parties and MPs are forced to pay far more atention to their electorates and voters
Occupying city centres may achieve something eventually, but they don’t look like the can reach consensus on anything important by the election.
Occupying the polls is where the immediate power is. We can have a revolution right now if enough of us want to.
Y’know, looking through the various demands, there seems to be two currents of thought or approach to them. There is the reformist approach that would have each demand tackled on a case by case basis. And there is, what I would term ‘the demand of the demands’, which is for democracy.
If efficacious democratic structures, that were participated in by both reformers and revolutionaries, were to gain ascendancy over our current representative structures, then all of the demands would be satisfied.
eg a democratic economy simply cannot produce the situations or results we see around us today.
It’s a curious irony that reformers are actively engaging in revolutionary activity (developing and refining meaningfully democratic structures), all the while calling for mere reform. 🙂
I don’t think we could function as a country in the world as a total participatory democracy, because that rules out capitalism and market – which I know is what some Occupiers want to eliminate.
I don’t think adjusting the exchange rate based on popular vote would work very well. Neither would justice.
And the biggest problem is the allocation of resources, it is not feasible to allocate benefits by consensus, and it wouldn’t work very well if 51% of people voted to give themsleves all the benefits.
Do you understand that the market is not a natural phenomena? That a market economy is only one among a number of possible economies? And that the market, as a mechanism for production and distribution has deeply deliterious effects both on the overwhelming majority of people alive on this planet today as well as for the natural environment?
Here’s a link to an intro for another economy. (the vid on the top right of the page) It’s not strident ‘bible bashing’ nonsense. Please do watch it if you have the broadband capacity. I’d be very curious to hear your reaction / initial thoughts.
http://www.zcommunications.org/topics/parecon
He talks about the level of participation being relative to how much something affects you, I agree with that, as opposed to the global one size fits everything approach.
Councils – a different name for a common idea. I want to set up an electorate council, one that different community and business councils can feed ideas and opinions into. As an MP I would then take directions from the electorate council to the parliamentary council. A bottom up approach to politics rather than a party down approach. That’s why party people either don’t understand or actively oppose some of the ideas I float here – standard practice is to attack the messenger.
There’s a lot in that and I’ll have to keep going back to it. It has inspired certainly more curiosity, but more than that. Too much for one comment here. Interested in meeting?
Yes it is. Using modern technology and the internet it is possible to bring about a democratic economy where resources are allocated by votes rather than through money.
Or by having communities material demands weighed against productive possibilities. (Consumer councils and producer councils). And having the resultant information pass back and forth between the variously affected consumer and production councils until a balance is achieved.
So if 2000 tonnes of pig iron will be needed by various workplaces looking to produce for the needs of communities, but the producer coouncils n the primary sector say that only 1500 tonnes will be able to be produced, then the various consumer and production councils affected by that pass altered demands and possibilities back and forth until the total need falls in line with productive possibilities.
This can be done without concentrating the information flow through a set of people (as happens in a command economy) and so sidesteps ‘information as power’ problems.
So we continue with 1% voting to give all the benefits to offshore investors while they get the crumbs. And the rest of us continue towards third world status.
In fact the evidence shows that given the power, the majority, on the whole, make more sensible decisions than a few group thinkers.
And. As no right turn says. “At the end of the day, even if it is wrong, it is our decision to make”.
Your answer just shows the usual politicians hubris.
Why do you think you have any better right, or competence, to make decisions about our future than the rest of us?
Why do you think you have any better right, or competence, to make decisions about our future than the rest of us?
I don’t think that.
My aim is to represent the decisions of the electorate in parliament first and foremost, rather than always putting ideology and party first.
Given that a huge number of former employees have moved into their own contracting, consulting or self employed businesses in the last 20 years, this sounds like horse shit.
FIFY
e.g. Pike River, Rena disaster, Southern Canterbury Finance (and subsequent bail out), etc
But are they rigid? There are many different business structures and degrees of involvement of staff in management and ownership.
Yes they are rigid. While there are alternatives that Bill, DtB and myself have pointed to, in this country at least, there are very few actual examples in action. Every business organisation I’ve run into (and that’s hundreds at least) follow the same top down shareholder/director/executive/middle management/worker model everwhere.
In small privately held SME’s there’s more likelihood of these rigid demarcations being blurred somewhat… but certainly never in any decent sized corporate I’ve experienced. Bill is right that while the ownership structure of Fonterra is a cooperative, the actual production side certainly isn’t. As DtB puts it, socialism is fine for the farmers… but not for their workers.
Works for the Swiss. they seem to function rather well.
Have you been to Switzerland? Do you know what it’s like there?
I believe they have one or two banks, and one or two corporations.
Contemporary business councils represent elites (obviously). And contemporary community councils are not composed of people from particular geographically located communities.
As such, neither is a meaningful expression of democracy. So why consult with them? And why position yourself ‘above’ them, ie in a representative position?
They have already disempowered the citizenry by claiming to be our voice. Your attempt to represent their views (representation lacking legitimacy in the first instance anyway) compounds our disempowerment by legitimising their position.
The producer councils in parecon are composed of workers (there being no bosses)
Community councils in parecon are composed of citizens from geographcal locations.
Most people would be particpants in both consumer (community) councils and producer councils.
And they would not conduct their dialogue through intermediaries.
Most people would be particpants in both consumer (community) councils and producer councils.
If current behaviour is any indicator most people would not be bothered participating.
Many people are actually happy to go to work, earn a wage and not worry about the running of the business.
In an environment where workers are not given any information or access to decision making processes, and often spend 8 + hours doing rote, soul destroying shit, then they ‘work to live’.
Where there is information and empowerment (no bosses) and no requirement to do only brain deadening tasks over and over (mixed job complexes), then that whole disempowered and disengaged ‘actually (a-hem) happy to go to work, earn a wage and not worry about the running of the business ‘ approach withers.
And if you don’t believe that to be the case, then show me the person who gives up empowering and interesting work to do shit.
Are you sure about that?
From all the whinging about the bosses and their bad decisions I’d say that a lot more people than you think would be willing to have a say. In fact I think that you’ll find that the only reason why they don’t engage in the running of the business now is because of the dictatorial way that business is set up.
I don’t buy that Bill. I’ve worked for large and small companies at varying levels including management, I have been self employed and I have owned businesses in partnership.
In my expeienced many, probably most employees don’t want the extra responsibilities and time commitment of running a business, they are happy to work for a wage or salary. Many workers don’t have sufficient expertise to make sensible management decisions.
Do you know how many workers would actually want what you suggest? If you know of some, I’d like to know why they haven’t set up their own co-operatives, they are free to try that.
Really, Bill, I’ve spoken to lots of peasants and they’re actually happier that we make the big decisions for them. Most of them just aren’t suited to running an estate, so we’re doing them a favour. /sarc
Co-operatives are set up all the time. Admittedly, there aren’t many examples I can point to in NZ, but in the UK, across Europe and in the US and Australia they are fairly common.
I don’t know why it is so markedly different in NZ, but hey.
But lets say a the idea of a co-op is suggested (funded through people pooling their redundancy compensation and taking over their old workplace for example).
Well, maybe people in NZ have no tradition or experience to fall back on and no examples to look at and learn from. With the internet, the lack of local examples is not an insurmountable problem….experiences, suggestions and advise can be ‘imported’ via the net.
But it’s difficult to get to that point because far too many people have internalised the crushing judgement of the type you yourself make in your comment when you assert that “workers don’t have sufficient expertise to make sensible management decisions.”
Now, such judgements or assertions are absolute fucking tosh and don’t apply in the case of a collective or co-op. For a start, one person management systems are gone. They don’t exist.
That means decisions are made via inclusive and democratic structures. Now lets say we are talking of some small factory setting that has been taken over. Jo can’t read. Jo can’t write. (this is the case for many semi and non skilled workers) Can Jo make a contribution to decisions? Of course! People like Jo are specialists in the parts of the system of production that they have been forced to work for 10 or 15 or 20 years. They know more about its limitations and potentials than any manager ever did.
And in a collective, Jo isn’t going to be forced to remain doing the same old monotonous shit all day every day. By developing a more varied work ‘routine’ that includes some of everything that is required to make a workplace run (and that’s far more than just filling order books), Jo becomes empowered and also gains experience and confidence. And when jo can read and write, even more opportunities for more variety and more empowerment present themselves.
And if you had been the former boss? You could still be there. But you would be no more the boss than Jo. Both you and Jo and every other worker would fulfill and excercises that function co-operatively and democratically. And just as Jo is learning new shit, so would you and everyone else be too.
Co-operatives are set up all the time. Admittedly, there aren’t many examples I can point to in NZ,
umm… Fonterra.
Remarkable how socialist our farming friends are actually.
Many small business partnerships could be regarded as a form of co-operative. Maybe that changes if the business employs someone but that would rule Fonterra out too.
Nah. Not Fontera. It isn’t a co-op in any meaningful sense. The vertical divisions of labour and the specialised niches (where power resides) and general disempowerment of most persist
Look at the histories of PGG Wrightson, Silverfern Farms, CRT, etc. And the Farmers Union.
Rural folk love socialism, and they know co-ops work.
Is it the lack of expertise or because arseholes like you put them down destroying their self-confidence?
If they’ve got the resources available to them which they probably don’t because the 1% have appropriated all the wealth.
Oh, they love socialism – for themselves. They’re quite happy to take handouts from the government (us) they just don’t want to have to pay for them and work to ensure that everybody else does.
Yes.. Fonterra is a different sort of cooperative to the one Bill is describing.
Here is another corporate story about Oticon.
Kim Hill did a feature interview with Kolind back in the 90’s some time… it was remarkably thought-provoking. I’m unsure how his innovative management ideas have stood the test of time, but Oticon still remains a world leader in hearing technology.
The point is, the rigid corporate hierarchy we unthinkingly accept as the ‘only way’.. isn’t. There are alternatives that are a lot more effective.
But are they rigid? There are many different business structures and degrees of involvement of staff in management and ownership. It’s up to those involved to structure it how they want, and it’s up to employees to work for the corporation or not. It’s totally impractical to change this by forcing specific ways of structuring and managing and owning.
Sorry PG in the future, unless you are a worker, you’re not going to have a say over how the business is run.
Pg your vagueness is only outdone by your naive vain boasting
petegeorge, n. & v.t. 1. Being obtuse in the extreme, inane; divert, deflect, evade question and introduce irrelevance; refuse to commit to stance; draw off attention of (from one embarrassment to another); distract, confuse, obfuscate; (he ~ s every attempt at discussion) 2. Male sexual organ of gibbon. Hence ~MENT, ~IFICATION [21st c orig unknown]
Unstoppable form this morning ak…lol
Crack up!
Pete.
Management 101. Effective change management.
1. Establish a consensus that there is a need for change.
2. Figure out what needs to be changed. Again by consensus.
3. Invite ideas and positive changes from the shop floor.
4. Managers should act as facilitators and supporters of change agents.
Lasting and effective changes, need to have the active support of the majority of the workforce, at all levels.
Authoritarian managers are rarely effective at making lasting changes. People always find a way to derail changes they do not support.
Despite some of the best research on Management and Leadership coming from the USA. Places like the USA, NZ and UK ignore it. Leaving effective implementation to Germany, Japan and Scandinavia.
It is strange that despite all the research that says they are less effective, the cult of the Authoritarian Manager/National Leader still remains. Maybe the answer lies in the research about Authoritarian followers. Those who like certainty, even if it is leading them into a country like Somalia.
OWS is at stage 1 at present.
What is frightening politicians, who dream of absolute power, is they know OWS will grow.
We will soon see the solution is democracy. Very scary for those who have been ripping us of while accepting a Parliamentary salary from us.
Why should we leave our future up to a power hungry, greedy minority.
I agree with most of what you say. I initially approached Occupy Dunedin because I thought I shared some of their ideals and aims – in fact I still think (and have told them) that in theory our aims to address a lack of democratic process are similar, we are just taking different approaches.
But I discovered I have a major difference with what they want to achieve.
I am trying to join and change our current democracy by democratic means.
Some in OD (and OA) at an organisational level want to scrap our current democracy and replace it with their own ideal – which sounds much like communism to me. And they are not exactly doing it in a democratic way. If you haven’t already read Bill’s post and all of his comments:
http://thestandard.org.nz/an-occupation-occupied-what%e2%80%99s-next/
I think the Occupy movement should be open and honest about what they are doing. As should the Mana Party. And the Green Party should clarify their position.
Pete.
Our current system of Government. IS NOT A DEMOCRACY.
Nothing wrong with the ideals of communism. Or Democratically regulated capitalism, either.
Both or a mixed economy all work, when people have democratic control.
The most successful States ever, in delivering prosperity and a fair stable society to all their citizens have been the mixed socialist democracies of Western Europe.
Why are you so scared of communism. Or do you conflate communism with the Authoritarian Dictatorships of Cuba, Russia and Zimbabwe, which were no closer to the communist ideal than our society is to Democracy.
FIFY
Despite there being many supposed types of democracy, democracy itself only has one meaning – rule by the people.
Representative Democracy is just as much of an oxymoron as anecdotal evidence, benevolent dictator, or an honest burgler.
I hope they aren’t using management 101 as outlined above. It’s been around since the seventies and has consistently returned only short term results. The model is especially easily infiltrated and then turned towards normal authoritarian hierarchial forms.
Personally, I think the problem is that the system used to unite the people is inherently bonded to the world view of the leaders/managers/facilitators. To find a long term solution to the destructiveness of capitalism, you’d have to find a universal language of morals/ethics, at least. We all know how difficult that has been/would be. No one agrees, no one knows where to look, and many get hysterical at the thought of there even being a right and wrong, on the off-chance that what they do is wrong and their enemies, right. (speaking in the context of short term human lifespan.)
Early examples of management 101 have been pushed by the personalities of the leaders/managers and their development. Eventually they outgrow the people they’re helping and the people, of varying degrees of self awareness, then descend into the doubt/stall/chaos that signals new beginnings. At that point the people are weakened and cast about for the ideas of the good old days, not realising that those ideas are single use, time and situation specific, solutions. This wouldn’t be a problem if self-interest and greed were not inherent human conditions.
The fastest way to end the OWS movement would be to define it’s goals or organise a set of leaders. Or to use an old mangement theory slogan, they should use the “both tight and loose” model: Being aware of what needs to be done on an individual level, also aware of collective participation, but not trying too hard to force it when it looks like it’s deviating. Lasting change begins with the individual making daily decisions to influence their world in a new way.
Now here is some sense:
Morals/ethics in a secular world.
Except I wouldn’t say “destructiveness of capitalism” – not all capitalism is destructive, just as not all socialism is a failure. I think we need to try and find the best balance of isms and thenj keep striving and adjusting in a changing world.
Secular people don’t have a problem with morals or ethics. Neither do the founders of most of the great religions.
They are remarkably consistent. Treat other people as you would like to be treated.
It is believers in religions who seem to have flexible ethics. For instance.
“Thou” shalt not kill. Unless it is someone who disagrees with our religion!
“We believe in personal responsibility”. “Except when it is our fault”.
“Jesus Christ wants me to be rich”
“We believe in capitalism”. “Until it fails. Then the socialists can bail us out”.
All of these ideas are very much minority opinions amongst ‘religious’ people, confined mostly to the American right, (contrary to popular Standardista belief, most Christianity in NZ is leftist, not rightist). In fact even in the USA, a significant chunk of Christianity is leftist – have you ever heard of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement, or of Tony Campolo and Brian McLaren?
I call bigotry, KJT…
I will take that is a compliment.
I suppose it is not surprising that followers of Authoritarian Fundamentalist Religions, Catholicism, Neo-Liberalism, Brethren etc. react with personal attacks and denigration when they are exposed.
They also, all seem to be obsessed with regulating others sex lives. And have a fear of Women.
I do not have the numbers, but I doubt very much that the majority of church goers, even in NZ, are leftist. Definitely not in the USA.
I know several Christians and Muslims, who I like and respect, who follow the ethical teachings of their respective church founders. Who agree with me about organised, establishment, religion. Though I suspect they would be moral and thoughtful people no matter what their religious beliefs, or lack of them.
I do not have the numbers, but I doubt very much that the majority of church goers, even in NZ, are leftist. Definitely not in the USA.
That’s an interesting question. In my experience it’s a very mixed bag. The fundamentalist churches are as a rule very authoratarian and conservative, and while they tend to be rather noisy and visible it’s not clear where the numbers lie.
Then there are of course the main-stream Christian churches like the Presbyterians, Anglicans and Methodists who still retain a strong, sometimes surprisingly liberal, social justice agenda. And you also get confounding groups such as the Salvation Army, who while dressing up in a strongly authoritarian regalia… actually deliver a lot of useful social services on the ground. (I’ll refrain from mentioning the Catholic Church here because I really don’t have an informed opinion on them..)
Sitting in the pews most people avoid being too political. Fellowship with others is more important than winning an argument, so for the most part church goers eschew overt discussion of politics. But it’s my experience that while most are relatively conservative in terms of personal behaviour, that doesn’t necessarily translate into their wider political convictions about a ‘just and sanctified society’.
Most mature believers I know hold quite clear views about the greed and excessive materialism that grips much of the secular world. Indeed it’s worth remembering that the first Labour party meetings were held in Methodist church halls, and that generation of trade unionists and reformers were often motivated by a muscular Christian belief in justice.
Traditionally in New Zealand (up to the 1980s), Anglican and Presbyterian regular church-goers voted National,
while Roman Catholics, Protestant Non-Conformists and Athiests/Agnostics/Non-Church-goers voted Labour.
More recently, the New Zealand Election Survey data (Elections 1984-2002) suggest that regular church-goers in general are much more likely to vote for The Political Right than everyone else (although among these regular church-goers there remains a slight division, Catholics and Methodists still being a little less likely to vote Nact than other Protestants).
The religious demographic most likely to vote Green is the Non-Christian Religious vote (which presumably includes the vast majority of Buddhists and probably New Age types, as well as perhaps Muslim and Hindu voters, including recent migrants).
Why am I not surprised? 😀
And yet, and yet, so many of us are women! (Including me). Why do you think that is?
Yet whether you wish to believe it, and you evidently don’t, it’s true! I never said the majority of American Christians are leftists. Don’t misquote me, I am sick of being misquoted here..
“And yet, and yet, so many of us are women! (Including me). Why do you think that is? “”
Stockholm syndrome!
Cos you reckon we women are like, too ‘dumb’ to think things through, so we have to have been stockholmed? Men… bless you all, but I hate being patronised…
bless you all, but I hate being patronised…
hehe… hell did I learn that the hard way some time back.
The point is that most of our structures ignore the points I made above.
Instead of following best practice for making change.
You are ignoring my point that successful changes are always from the bottom up. The Neo-Liberal elite know this. Even though they do not follow it.
That is why they are so terrified of a mass movement for change.
Ultimately any structures or changes not supported by the majority will fail. The Soviet Union failed from within. And so will the Neo-Liberal corporate State.
Change is continually imposed from the top by a few people who are either nakedly self interested (NACT) or who believe we should be forced to act in the way they believe we should be (Some on the other side). I suspect they are just as self interested, but are motivated by a desire for power.
(Why my calls for Democracy are just as unpopular on almost any political party site).
maybe they should join Untitled Fairytales UFs motto is Vagueness being upfront and honest yeah right PG your just a grovellers for soft national votes
Pharmac under attack. Locals have the bare story but the texts they refer to are here and worth a look. http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/blog/2011/10/22/leaked-trans-pacific-fta-texts-reveal-u-s-undermining-access-to-medicine/
Sadly I thought they were actual phone texts (or textses as Key would say). The original articles aren’t that comprehensive! Still , worth wading into…
Occupyauckland play rugby, satirise the wealthy, have some fun, and experiment with consensus decision- making.
There is nothing vague about what Pete George stands for. It was in his first letter to the occupiers of The Octagon last week.
Thanks uturn, that’s right. I stand for our current democratic system and rule of law.
In other words you don’t want to understand the occupy movement as it wants to change the present system.
Pretty much, life’s pretty sweet for Pete. Just one little tweak:
More power and money for Pete George.
But he’s working on that now, and that’s what all this boring bullshit is all about. There’s no point in debating anything with him because he doesn’t give a flying fuck. All the empty slogans and dog-whistle bigotry, and interminable blah blah blah is just about raising his profile to that one end.
My pick is that he’ll end up in council. As if there aren’t enough self-serving blowhards there already.
IT IS NOT DEMOCRATIC.
Why should we accept a rule of law that is
1. Imposed by a very small minority.
2. Imposed for the benefit of an even smaller minority.
3. We have almost no power to change.
“The law, in its wisdom, deals equally with the rich and the poor. Both are forbidden to sleep under a bridge”.
Or to quote another famous man. “If voting made any difference they would abolish it”.
It is democratic – there are many forms of democracy.
Everything cannot be decided by everyone:
– not everyone can be bothered being a part of the process
– there are far too many things to be decided
– some things require immediate action and don’t have time for democracy eg if a container ship hits a reef there is no time for a referendum
So what we really should be talking about is what balance of representative democracy and direct democracy would suit us best.
It is not the case in a democracy that everything is decided by everyone. Everyone participates in those decisions that affect them to the extent they are affected by them.
If you’re workplace or community is making some decision that will have no effect on me, then why would I be a party to those decisions?
You still do not get it.
Parliament should be our administration. To implement what we decide.
To return to a business model. The manager makes day to day decisions, but the general direction and priorities should be set by the board.
An administration can make decisions where they are immediately required, but the direction should be set by us. E.G. In the case of a ship hitting a reef we decide what the priorities should be beforehand. Our democratically decided priority may have been that we do not allow ships on our coast that the US coastguard would have turned away.
There are not many forms of Democracy. There is Democracy and there are various systems of rotating dictatorships that claim to be Democracy.
There is no such thing as representative Democracy. It is an oxymoron.
If you want a model. The Swiss one is the closest. Delivered years of peace and a stable prosperous society.
Decision making starts at the town and Canton level for things that only affect that area.
Despite all the evidence, that top down authoritarian structures are the least effective in good decision making, we still persist with them.
The Swiss one is the closest. Delivered years of peace and a stable prosperous society.
It has some good democratic ideas but hardly stellar –
“Women were granted the right to vote in the first Swiss cantons in 1959, at the federal level in 1971 and, after resistance, in the last canton Appenzell Innerrhoden in 1990.”
I visited Appenzell last year, interesting place. They are well known for their Landsgemeinden, open air democratic assemblies.
The lateness in giving votes to Women reflects their society.
The votes against taxation in California reflects their society. Other referendum states in the USA have voted for the impeachment of austerity Governments and more taxation.
A Democracy in NZ would reflect our society.
Which values fairness, looking after our children and elderly, and equality. Or we did before the Neo-Liberal meanness took over.
In NZ votes for women, like homosexual law reform and the several other advances were held up by Parliamentary conservatives, not a majority of voters.
NZ society also values hard work and hates those who can’t be bothered to make the effort (‘bludgers’). New Zealand society has always expected people receiving state help to make an effort for themselves.
This is the unconscious meme that National has always played to, and very successfully.
And one that Labour has failed to address adequately.
And this is not a new trait for NZ. Remember, if you were given a state house in Savage’s time, you were responsible for properly looking after the house and its gardens to a high standard of tidiness, or risk losing it.
BS, that’s what you think suits you best. How about this:
We fire the representatives but keep the government departments. The government departments then ask us what we want to do with the resources we have available (Note: Resources, not money) and we vote upon that.
In this system the government departments do the day to day administration (responding to accidents and other things that require immediate action) using rules and regulations that we’ve collectively voted upon as their guide and the resources we’ve allowed them to use. Everything that they do is, of course, published.
On top of that because we know what resources the country has available we also get to vote on how those resources are used and distributed – in trade, in R&D, etc, etc.
Why don’t you find out what level popular support you would get for that? If it was overwhelmingly supported in Dunedin North I would support it, but I would also advocate strongly for checks and balances. Any system has it’s weaknesses and downsides and unforeseen problems so you need safeguards..
Ever considered that’s what the Occupy movement is about? They want to get rid of the present system and they want democracy. No, of course you didn’t, you just called them names and told them to go away as they were upsetting you.
And I noticed that you pulled one of your no answer answers there. Tell me, have you got a patent on that yet?
Tory Pete, your multiple ‘if not that then how about this?’ posts here do seem some weird attempt to construct a fact free virtual confusion device.
And you are happy with our present system?
The checks and balances in a democracy is the collective knowledge of everyone who is interested in a particular policy.
In our “representative democracy”. Parliament is supreme. At the end of the day a group of determined nutters/facilitators of moneyed theft, can hijack the whole thing. They did in 1884. And are at the verge of doing it again. Helped by outright lies in the media their masters own.
I am advocating for democracy. The mix of State and private ownership is something for the majority to decide looking at evidence of what works best.
The market works fine in some situations where one player cannot naturally dominate. The State works better for infrastructure and public good.
Criminal convictions for politicians and journalists who are ‘economical with the truth” will help the public with good decision making.
In Switzerland politicians now they have to back up decisions convincingly with evidence, or they will be overturned by referenda.
Looks like this election is shaping up to be an even 49% either side
Interesting points:
Labour + Green have more than National at 37.3% (National at 36.8)
Will Colin Craig’s Conservative Party beat ACT? They do have a pretty nice brochure and I have heard from some people they plan to vote CP based on the lovely brochure.
Will Chauvel beat Dunne? Will Banks be Spanked? Why have 10% of Labour voters gone to National?
The US introduces thought crime HR 3131
http://www.ij.org/about/4059
Striking parallels to NZs own proceeds from crimes act – the burden of proof being shifted to the defendant with forfeiture being the default, and seized monies going to enforcement agencies (tho in NZ this is split between the crown and the police.
This incentive to seize must be removed (all funds to go instead towards mitigation of social harm via, for example health agencies) and forfeiture strictly limited – the law is not supposed achive compliance in the community by behaving like a feudal lord who intimidates and impoverishes the people of the realm willfully, or on a whim, to expand a control apparatus or an empire.
who is the dreamer claiming 10% of labour voters have gone national.
I dont think so.
National is engaging in a class war of the nastiest sort aided and abetted by the media who of course have a vested interest in retailing unneeded gew gaws and gimcracks to the unsuspecting.
Only Labour can save the day.
A fortnight old but worth the read.
7 Major Advance Warnings
So banksie boy is off to London to assist with the economic crises, W.T.F. havent they got enough problems.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10761048
How much do we have to pay to get them to keep him?
If brash stays out of the country ACT support will go up
pete goerge. the election will decide all that and Labour will win it.
The most dangerous drug isn’t meow meow. It isn’t even alcohol …
Newspapers are the biggest threat to the nation’s mental wellbeing
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/22/charlie-brooker-newspapers-dangerous-drug
Out of interest when do the debates start on tv for the election?
Sorry Brett, just rugby this year. Priorities and that. Besides, Key’s not keen anyway.
More leaks from the TPPA negotiation. It seems that this time we’d get an ACT bill has been inserted without public discussion or even notification.
Kelsey says the real risks lie in the cross-fertilisation of these ‘regulatory disciplines’ with other TPPA chapters. The ‘transparency’ chapter would guarantee foreign investors input into New Zealand regulatory decisions, while the ‘investment’ chapter could allow foreign investors to sue the government in private offshore tribunals if it proceeded with new regulations that eroded the investment’s value or profitability.
Same old, ya reckon?
Yep, the Right Wing Authoritarians are trying to take us back to the bad old days.
Charlie Rose speaks to billionaire hedge fund founder Ray Dalio
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11957
Pretty good stuff, from one of the richest people in the world.
Well interesting, thanks.
I wish I could have written something like this:
Everyone knows David Cameron is a lizard. So why does the Telegraph continue to deny the truth?
Don’t just take my word for it. Ask all those who have seen the reptilian demon in action
Last week, during the opening preamble to a fairly pedestrian whinge about glitzy BBC promo trails, I called Prime Minister David Cameron a “pitiless blank-eyed hell-wraith” and described his familiar evening ritual: a stomach-churning rite which opens with ceremonial skin-shedding and climaxes with the swallowing of a live foal.
So far, so utterly reasonable. But Graeme Archer of the Daily Telegraph was less than impressed. In a riposte entitled “Charlie Brooker and the Tragedy of the Modern Left”, he wrote that he was appalled that “Mr. Brooker felt the need to spend four paragraphs to tell us that the Prime Minister is, in fact, a lizard [and] that he is served by lizards who aid him in the consumption of live flesh once the sun goes down.”
read the rest here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/16/charlie-brooker-cameron-a-lizard
Wall St Banker calls OWS Protestor a Monkey
The racist arrogance is breathtaking. Watch from 2 mins in.
http://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday#p/u/9/lYL6DgfvosU