tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56523723327611854262024-03-13T03:31:28.328-07:00Corner Politicsa point at which significant change happensCorner Politicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08267238401691409774noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-16997414824773137072017-03-26T11:16:00.001-07:002017-03-26T11:16:50.664-07:00Neoliberal Paradise <div>
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As I tramp through the valleys and the volcanoes of En Zed<br />I take a look at the parties and realize there's no "Left"<br />'Cause I've been splittin my vote for so long that<br />Even the Greens think that I'm just their own <br />But I ain't never skipped an election you know that <br />Me be treated like the base, you know that's unheard of<br />You better watch how you messagin, and where you campaignin<br />Or you and your Greenies might be fourth termed <br />I really hate to trip but I gotta vote <br />As they croak I see myself in the polls so close<br />Fool!<br />I'm the kinda G they wanna see take a hike<br />With my brown face and womaning in broad daylight <br /><br />We been spending most our lives living in the neoliberal paradise<br />We been spending most their lives living in the free market paradise<br />We keep spending most our lives living in the capitalist paradise<br />We keep spending most our lives living in the corporate paradise<br /><br />They got a housing crisis, they got me facing<br />I can't live a millenial life, I was raised by austerity <br />So I gotta be down with the fiscal responsibility <br />Too much student loans got me chasing dolla bills<br />I'm a educated fool with justice on my mind<br />Got my facts in my hand and twittering in my eye<br />I'm a hoped out graduate, being nothin but a barista<br />And my homies wanna get a payment down so they want our avocado <br />Drool!<br />Tax cuts aint nothing but a budget away<br />They're living a lie, surveil and spy what can I say<br />I'm thirty three never will I live to see 64<br />The way supa's going I don't know<br /><br />Tell me why do we refuse to see<br />That the ones hurt are our fellow kee-wee<br />They been spending most their lives living in the neoliberal paradise<br />They been spending most their lives living in the mouldy paradise<br />We keep spending most our lives living in the dirty river paradise<br />We keep spending most our lives living in the homeless paradise<br /><br />Gower and the Henry, Hosking and the Gower<br />Election after election, year after year<br />Everybody's running, but half of them ain't listening<br />What's going on in the 9th floor, we can't be politicking<br />They say I've got to wait my turn but nobody's here to stitch me<br />If they can't fund it, how can they fix me<br />I guess they can't<br />I guess they won't<br />I guess they front<br />That's why our economy is forever stuck<br />Fool!<br /><br />They been spending most their lives living in the neoliberal paradise<br />They been spending most their lives living in the prison paradise<br />We keep spending most our lives living in the poverty paradise<br />We keep spending most our lives living in the crusher's paradise<br /><br />Tell me why do we refuse to see<br />That the ones we hurt are our fellow kee-wee<br />Tell me why do we refuse to see<br />That the ones we hurt are our fellow kee-wee<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.8px;" type="cite">
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Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-12405382995425699912016-04-09T17:00:00.002-07:002016-04-16T18:20:27.335-07:00A note on the Panama Papers<br>
Mossack Fonseca is apparently the <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/what-is-mossack-fonseca-group/3268150.html">fourth biggest provider of offshore services</a>. Which means there are 3 others that are bigger and probably handle even more high profiled folks. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who those people might be. Folks at the highest level of economic and political power don’t get to those places without gaming the system. There are plenty of people who “work hard” but those people will never be part of this club. <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/07/2012722145418435676.html">If the Panama Papers account for $32 trillion</a> (!!!), what do you think the 3 others account for?<br><br>It isn’t by accident that <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2014/01/23/the-85-richest-people-in-the-world-have-as-much-wealth-as-the-3-5-billion-poorest/#c7ea230324bb">85 people own the wealth of half the world’s population</a>. It is by design. It is through laws passed by those who apparently represent us that allow people to get away with this kind of robbery. There might be outrage that this is robbery via tax avoidance. We might think we are being deprived of essential services from the government because of their actions but it actually goes deeper than that. The artificially set minimum wage, the artificial fight for health benefits, the artificial fight for better wages for our teachers and our nurses – this is all created by this incredible wealth horde. It turns out that not only can some corporations and individuals afford to pay a living wage, they can afford much more than that.<br><br>Perhaps the minimum wage (everywhere) should be pegged to profits of a corporation so we do not harm small business because right now these corporations are taking advantage of these arbitrary laws to massively redistribute wealth from the middle class to the rich. This is not – annual income of $250,000 rich, this is mega rich. Effectively most of the world is in slavery – forced to work for low wages, no benefits, no holidays, no education because apparently companies cannot afford to pay them.<div>
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Don’t forget that by spending up to 90% of our income on goods and services, we are enabling these people to hoard incredible amounts of wealth. Those born into this wealth will never have to work as hard as we do and we will forever be chastised for not working hard enough and for being jealous and envious.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">The Global Financial Crisis was and is continued to be used as a crutch to deprive us from access to education, health services, a fairer justice system, housing for the poor, mental health services, wages for teachers and nurses, action on climate change, prevention of environmental degradation, services for people with disabilities and chronic illness, science and technology research, arts and culture funding, dangerous working conditions all around the world, paid leave for parents, holidays for workers – the list goes on! “Austerity!” they say. What an incredible lie it all is.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-56520661445632625102016-02-06T15:19:00.002-08:002016-02-06T15:20:53.470-08:00On the public's enemies: the Labour Party and TPP protesters<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-NZ">When we
look to a change in government, we might look to Labour. They are currently the major
party of the opposition and despite their less than impressive polling numbers,
the next left wing government will most likely be led by them. Last month's shenanigans from certain MPs on the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement (TPP) left many of us fairly disappointed. However,
given Labour’s history with free trade agreements (FTAs) and their position on
FTAs generally, I am not surprised that some their more conservative MPs like
Phil Goff feel they have to break away from the party position and support the
TPP. David Shearer’s position is somewhat more curious; Phil Goff is running to
be mayor of Auckland but it is not clear if Shearer’s position is formed by
conversations with his constituents or if it's just a personal opinion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">There is a
possibility that the TPP would have looked different if negotiated under a Labour
government. That is extremely speculative given Mike Moore (ex-Labour Prime
Minister) has been NZ Ambassador to the US for much of the time this was
negotiated. So the question remains – is the Labour opposition to TPP an
opposition to National only? Or is it true opposition to the actual TPP agreement? Because if they are opposing the TPP just to oppose National, then it makes sense
that that position is a lot harder for many MPs to swallow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">If this is
a question about wider discipline issues in the caucus, how would we react if
the party had decided to support the TPP and some MPs broke ranks to oppose?
Would we be more forgiving? Arguably, a collective party position is more favourable within the MMP context rather than individual positions on major policy matters similar to what we see in the US Congress. The rampant individualism in the House and Senate is tiring,
counter-productive, and leads to unstable policies. Individual
positions on conscience issues is understandable – although even that sometimes seems odd because
what constitutes conscience is very arbitrary. </span>From
an electoral perspective, a party position is very important because it is the
party vote that ultimately determines the make-up of Parliament. The factional and often confusing position on the TPP by Labour MPs is ultimately a disservice to the public. Labour’s
official line at this point seems to be that they will oppose but will accept it once it goes
through Parliament. Given that National has the numbers to pass the related legislation, their 'opposition' is not material. What is needed is a clear set of reasons why this is a bad deal and those reasons need to be reiterated enthusiastically and constantly by every MP. So that the public can be informed.<br />
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Why does Labour need to inform the public? </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tGP1lFbAbnI/VrZwZa6LAiI/AAAAAAAAAF0/tbmd0c9fL-w/s1600/IMG_3536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tGP1lFbAbnI/VrZwZa6LAiI/AAAAAAAAAF0/tbmd0c9fL-w/s400/IMG_3536.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Auckland TPP Protest, <br />
photo via <a href="https://twitter.com/MHassan_1">Mohammed Hassan</a> on Twitter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-NZ">Today, <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11585760">there is a column</a> about the protesters and how they didn’t really know what they were
protesting. Heather du Plessis-Allen seems annoyed that protesters disrupted
traffic and finds the democratic right to protest "infuriating". As Luke Tipoki pointed out on twitter in <a href="https://twitter.com/LukeTipoki/status/696051713153724416">this thread</a> – when the
Springbok Tour was being protested, did the tactics distract from the issue or
raise awareness? Are more people in New Zealand suddenly wondering what the TPP
is really about after this weekend? </span>If TPP protestors don’t know much about the
TPP – whose fault is it and why isn’t that a red flag for our democracy and our
democratic processes?</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-85CL9ManmY8/VrZ0yrV5sAI/AAAAAAAAAGI/xZi2ppt6LUg/s1600/newtpp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-85CL9ManmY8/VrZ0yrV5sAI/AAAAAAAAAGI/xZi2ppt6LUg/s320/newtpp.jpg" width="161" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Auckland TPP Protest <br />Photo via <a href="https://twitter.com/WillTaylorNZ">Will Taylor</a><br />and</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/Rissadelli">Iris Riddell</a> </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">on Twitter</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">A major
trade agreement has been signed and most people don’t know anything about it because
it was negotiated and agreed to in secret with very little consultation with
the public. This should be concerning. Obviously the details of negotiations are secret but changes to major
policy direction should have had public input. In a healthy democracy, we should
have had a public debate on the pros and cons of the broad policy changes in in
areas like healthcare, intellectual property, and agriculture. There has been
so no sit down in-depth interview with John Key or Tim Groser where a
trade/economy/finance reporter has grilled them on the finer aspect of the
agreement. They have no problems putting protesters on the spot </span>but they have yet to put our Prime Minister and our Minister of Trade in a primetime slot where they answers the questions on why we should embrace this agreement. The protesters on the other hand are folks who have not
been consulted with, who didn’t get to see the deal until after it was agreed to,
and who are not trade expert. This imbalance of power is not acknowledged or
taken into account in the reporting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
When the Prime Minister dismisses protesters as "rent-a-mob", the media faithfully publishes his allegations without any investigation into if this is actually a practice. Is every single person here "rented"? How much are they paying these protesters? Who exactly is bankrolling this? Or do they have a legitimate grievance in that they do not know anything about this trade agreement and therefore, cannot support something they do not know anything about. That they would prefer the government to wait until they do is not a hard ask. Again, it is a preposterous allegation to suggest that these people are rented but the Prime Minister's allegations seldom are challenged. Where the media should be holding the government (those in power) to account, they seem more inclined to hold the opposition (slightly less powerful) and the public (basically powerless) to account. The contempt showed towards protesters is surprising. We accept when the Prime Minister says he doesn't have the information on hand and therefore cannot answer a technical question but we are punish the general public if they do not know the intricacies of a major trade agreement. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PkROOH_7ypg/VrZs3EsQcQI/AAAAAAAAAFo/hboEmjXdtvo/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PkROOH_7ypg/VrZs3EsQcQI/AAAAAAAAAFo/hboEmjXdtvo/s200/FullSizeRender%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
By all
accounts, the gains from the TPP are miniscule even from MFAT's own analysis. The effect on healthcare, particularly drug prices is yet to be seen but a number of healthcare and doctors organizations already oppose the TPP, which definitely casts a dark shadow on the legitimacy of the benefits. Protection of the Treaty of
Waitangi is considered weak by legal experts. Consultation with Maori have been non-existent. In
fact, John Key basically blatantly lied to the media about consultation and faced no
consequences as a result. Consultation after finalizing a deal is not good
faith consultation by any account. Yet, while protesters get denigrated in newspaper columns and on tv, the PM essentially lies about consultation, refuses to front up to Maori, and blames the public for being ignorant about a secret deal and there are no consequences for him. The cognitive dissonance from all parties is fairly astounding. </div>
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<a href="https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-concluded-but-not-in-force/tpp/tpp-talk/tpp-talk-3-december-2012/">MFAT</a> has taken to justifying this agreement by saying: </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Beyond the economic modelling, we know that free trade agreements help New Zealand exporters, because they have told us so."</i></span></span></blockquote>
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Instead of doing independent analysis which is what we would expect a neutral government department to do, they are relying on businesses to direct this trade agreement which is a matter of public policy. Interestingly, they also say: </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"A recently released study estimates that gains for New Zealand from a free trade agreement with the current 11 TPP economies could be as high as 1.4 percent of our gross domestic product, or US$2.9 billion."</i></span></span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">This is new. When the TPP was initially signed, MFAT said gains would be 0.9% and even the 1.4% is not definitive. But, that has mysteriously disappeared from their website, only a screenshot was captured: </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g6rCDPnMa6M/VrZsyQJkBxI/AAAAAAAAAFk/AQ8W_0qBzrw/s1600/tpp.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g6rCDPnMa6M/VrZsyQJkBxI/AAAAAAAAAFk/AQ8W_0qBzrw/s1600/tpp.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: MFAT website August 2, 2015. This no longer exists on their website. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-NZ">The current laughable rationale is that somehow the Labour Party and protesters are our enemies because they don't have a consistent position or they are ignorant. <o:p></o:p></span>It will be years before it is fully implemented and any harm will be incremental. It will be even slower than death by a thousand cuts. Unfortunately we, the public, are not getting consistent and reliable information from anyone. Not from our news organizations, not from the Opposition, and definitely not from the Government. We are completely on our own in this and we have to educate each other because we essentially don’t have anyone looking out for us. The current Parliamentary process of ratifying trade agreements is not going to provide an avenue for change but there might be some opportunity for us to learn more about the agreements. However, only a handful of people follow what happens in the debating chamber so it’ll be up to those to get the word out. And even that will ultimately be futile. </div>
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I end this with the following Tweet. This is what people expect protesters to be experts on: </div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Too bad they didn’t have the entire TPP text on the table where they signed it. It would’ve looked ridiculous: <a href="https://t.co/O6uRnd1GZr">pic.twitter.com/O6uRnd1GZr</a></div>
— Maira Sutton (@maira) <a href="https://twitter.com/maira/status/695019919470006272">February 3, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Corner Politicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08267238401691409774noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-56628280137646518862016-02-05T16:13:00.000-08:002016-02-05T16:13:08.390-08:00Nu Zilund Day should get in the sea.<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As many of you know, I did not have the privilege of growing up in
Aotearoa New Zealand. My parents are from Bangladesh and a few years after I
was born in Christchurch, they had to move back. And then they move to America
and I had to find my way back to Aotearoa New Zealand as an adult. As a result,
I’ve never been a super nationalistic or patriotic person. Having grown up and
lived in 3 countries, I never know who to swear my allegiance to. I’ll admit
that I knew very little about Māori culture when I moved back to New Zealand at
18. I took Treaty of Waitangi Law as an elective paper at Law School and that
was the first time I started to understand the legal status of the Treaty and
the legal rights of our indigenous population. During my brief stint at OTS in
2013, I learnt a lot about Māoridom including the more horrifying parts of our
history from negotiations meetings. But I am still learning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanksgiving in America is one of my favorite holidays. I love it
mostly because of the abundance of food but also because it is secular and so
it feels like everyone can take part in this celebration. But one thing that is
completely missing from the American Thanksgiving celebration is Native
Americans. It is as if they never even existed. The extent to which Native
American rights have been abused, the extent to which they are treated as
second class citizens, the extent to which they are an invisible people is
astounding. When children dress up every year as pilgrims and Native
Americans to re-enact the ‘first Thanksgiving’ in schools all over America,
they ignore history. Many are beginning to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day as
an alternative to Columbus Day but this is not widely known let alone accepted.
Native Americans are basically rarely in the public discourse and it is bizarre
the way history is so easily forgotten by an entire nation.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">America has managed to put aside all the negative feelings that
one should associate with how they have treated their indigenous population not
just in the past but in modern history. There are a lot of people that believe
that it would be better if Waitangi Day was akin to Thanksgiving or Fourth of
July as our national holiday. We could call it 'New Zealand Day' and forget all our problems. Many are disappointed by what happens at Waitangi
especially what is directed at politicians. But I am not. Many would like to
see that holiday turned into a civilised family gathering and a celebration of
our nationhood. I don't think that we are there yet. Not until we accept M<u1:p></u1:p>āori
culture as part of our national identity. And it cannot be just limited to the
Haka at All Blacks games. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I like that politicians have to confront
the pain that is in our society, the wounds that have not healed. I like that
we as a nation are forced to watch the anger on the 6’ o clock news and know
that we cannot just shove our people behind a day at the beach and a bbq with
the family. I like that it forces us to ask questions about whether we are
divided as a nation and how we can work to bridge that gap. At least I hope it
does. The Māori Party was formed because Māori had a voice. A voice they used
to stand up to legislation that would take away their rights. The fact that
America’s indigenous population don’t have a meaningful voice should not be
something we as a nation aspire to achieve. Perhaps we can ensure better means
of dialogue on the day. Perhaps the dialogue shouldn't be limited to just one
day. And yes, it would be nice if Waitangi Day was a family holiday of
celebration and maybe one day it will be but we don’t deserve that day today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am not an expert on the Treaty nor am I in any position to speak
for Māori, but it does seem to me that lack of consultation, which is a major
obligation, is causing a lot of grief for the government. From the flag change
process to the TPP trade deal, the government hasn’t consulted with Māori in a
satisfactory manner. This week’s protests and the controversy around the PM’s
yearly visit to the Te Tii Marae tells me that Māori do not see their “seat at
the table” via the Māori Party as meaningful enough partnership. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I see the desire for politicians to put this behind them but we
are still in process of settling historical grievances. We are still continuing
to deal with Treaty breaches. We don’t get to sweep this under the rug because
we haven’t actually dealt with this in any meaningful way. Only Pākehā privilege
allows people to disregard history because it is not “fun”. Only cognitive dissonance
allows white folks to talk about immigrant assimilation while completely
forgetting that they never assimilated or integrated. They merely destroyed,
denigrated, and built an entire society on the backs of death and on stolen
land. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Maybe it is because of that or maybe it is because I view the
Treaty as a legal and political document that is the basis for the foundation
and continuation of our nation. TMaybe it is because I spent a lot of time my
time looking at the impact of our justice and welfare system on Māori. Maybe it
is because I’m a minority and I’m forced occupy many uncomfortable spaces. But
I do not find what happens on Waitangi Day uncomfortable or upsetting.<u1:p></u1:p>
<u><b>There can be no partnership without dialogue and there can be no dialogue without
marginalized folks having the opportunity to protest those in power. </b></u>We live at
a time when Pākehā actively refuse to learn the official language, learn about
the culture, learn about the history, learn about the constant and enduring
effects of colonialism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are not ready for festive celebrations. We have very little to
celebrate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">[Please note: I posted a version of this in a previous blog a couple of years ago but sadly the issues remain the same]</span></b></o:p></div>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-88284034219189248752015-12-20T11:28:00.004-08:002016-04-15T15:53:01.999-07:00A Diary of NZ's Child Poverty Crisis <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #292f33;">This post will serve as a rolling post where I aggregate stories about child poverty to show how incredibly harmful our economic policies are. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b><u>15 April 2016:</u> Inequality and education </b></span><span style="color: #292f33;"><b style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #292f33;"><b style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></span>
According to a new <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/78911987/poorest-kiwi-kids-households-have-half-as-much-money-as-average-kids-report">UNICEF report released</a>, "New Zealand is in the bottom third for inequalities in education". While this government continues to keep saying they cannot measure poverty, the rest of the world is condemning us for being at the bottom of the heap.<br />
<br />
The framing of child poverty is about failed parents and adults. Yet, child poverty has an impact on education and health thus condemning this kids to a lifetime of poverty. And these very same kids will be chastised as adults for being poor even though that is effectively the life sentencing we are giving them.<br />
<div>
<span style="color: #292f33;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #292f33;">Universal Basic Income is something that has been discussed recently which may go some way to addressing child poverty but solving income inequality on its own is not enough. Poverty is a multi-pronged policy failure and unless it is considered in the context of government services, wealth inequality, labour rights, taxation of corporate profits, concentrated inherited wealth, and our values, we cannot solve this grave economic problem. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b><u>16 February 2016:</u> Child poverty and government inaction </b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
Today the <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/296691/govt-bill-won" t-help-children-commissioner="">Children's Commissioner</a> and the <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/76957685/government-agencies-inventing-numbers-to-meet-targets-says-report">Salvation Army</a> have had exposed how lack of government action has lead to a worsening situation. <br />
<br />
"Children's Commissioner Dr Russell Wills has described the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill as a wasted opportunity which will not improve the often-appalling conditions in which children live."<br />
<br />
This government has a habit of implementing policies that are not designed to be effective and then blaming 'government' as the reason why they were not effective. This then serves as an excuse for privatization or complete inaction. Add to this, now they are are being accused of cooking the numbers to make them look good. Somehow I'm not surprised that Government agencies might be creating fake targets to give the appearance of "success" since this Government brought in their Better Public Service targets. <br />
<br />
These targets are meaningless without a whole of government approach to meeting the needs of our society. If agencies are more worried about looking good to the government of the day, they are not going to be spending time coming up with policy solutions to solve the problems that the public faces. The government's own Ministerial Committee on Poverty continues to achieve nothing. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile: <br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Dr Russell Wills, Childrens Commissioner told the select committee today that 15 children die each year from cold damp homes</div>
— Metiria Turei (@metiria) <a href="https://twitter.com/metiria/status/699753715083776000">February 17, 2016</a></blockquote>
This is an appalling statistic and our entire nation should hang its head in shame. Housing should be a key social policy and a key priority for this government if they want to actually tackle child poverty. Unfortunately I don't think tackling child poverty is the legacy John Key is after. <br />
<br /></div>
<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b><u>11 February 2016:</u> Child poverty and education </b></span><br />
<br />
According to the OECD: <br />
<br />
<i> Poor children in New Zealand are more than six times more likely to do badly at maths than well-off children, a new report from the OECD says.</i><br />
<br />
This was <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/296231/poverty-holding-nz-school-kids-back">reported by RNZ</a> 2 days ago. Last year when he was questioned about uni students in hardship he <a href="http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/child-poverty-targeted-in-budget--john-key-2015051807#ixzz3zujNA51v">said</a> - "They can get a student loan with no interest, they can get a student allowance they never have to repay. There's lots of entitlements that they get that better-off kids don't get."<br />
<br />
Labour has announced a policy of free tertiary education which has the potential to help many in hardship but if childhood poverty and hardship prevents kids from getting a solid education, university will be very challenging and unproductive. We would be basically setting up these kids to fail. <br />
<br />
While the National Party is seen as good economic managers in the short term, this spells disaster for the future on New Zealand. We have a situation where <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11561896">1 in 3 Kiwi kids are growing up in poverty</a>. A third of an entire generation of children are going to enter the workforce at some stage in the future with inadequate skills. The fact that National are putting winning elections ahead of their responsibility to govern is predictable. No amount of trade agreements will solve the hole that child poverty will leave in our future books. <br />
<span style="color: #292f33;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #292f33;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b><u>20 December 2015:</u> NZ's looming economic crisis - child poverty </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #292f33;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #292f33; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today we have a story on RNZ
headlined: “<a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/292608/child-poverty-'moral-crisis'-for-nz">Child
poverty 'moral crisis' for New Zealand</a>”. While the headline focuses on </span>'moral
crisis', the person they were quoting - Dame Diane Robertson, who is the outgoing
head of the Auckland City Mission, said: "It's an economic crisis, it's a
social crisis and it's a moral crisis."<span style="color: #292f33; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span lang="EN-NZ">It is an economic crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">In 2008, academics
writing in the <i>Journal of Children and
Poverty<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5652372332761185426#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[i]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
</i><a href="http://home.uchicago.edu/ludwigj/papers/HolzerEtAlChildhoodPoverty.pdf">said</a>,
“</span>apart from considerations of equity and justice, it may be in the
nation’s material self-interest to reduce poverty.” My perception of the issue
is that the moral argument is failing. There seems to be very little appetite for
equity and justice for roughly 50% of the voting public. And this is reflected
in what we believe are the “real issues”. Personally, I do not think National
voters or even right wing voters are ‘evil’ and I think that they do care about
child poverty. But their preferred solution is not working. We know it is not
working because their preferred government has been in power and child poverty
is rising. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prime Minister John Key tried to deflect the issue by <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11561896">linking
child poverty to drug use</a>. It is clever but if it indeed is drug use (which
it is not), then it is also a government failure in its inability to treat
addiction as a public health issue. In fact, this government implemented a drug
testing policy for beneficiaries which has <a href="https://t.co/0zqAIN26FO">largely
been a failure</a>. There were 47 positives from about 30,000 tests - a huge waste of resources on an ideologically bigoted witch-hunt. Despite
the deflection, the facts provided by his own Children’s Commissioner is that <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/75066521/child-poverty-is-everyones-problem--childrens-commissioner">children
are living hardship whether their parents are on the benefit or in work</a>.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://infogr.am/children_in_poverty_by_household_income" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yvpgxqNF4pI/Vnb-wfqYi7I/AAAAAAAAAcY/R-UUkDKQSkM/s320/poverty.png" width="320" /></a></div>
The facts are that working parents are not making enough and their children are
in poverty. This is a travesty. To add to all of that, <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11549526&ref=NZH_Tw">31,000
people had their benefits cut because of not disclosing foreign trips</a> in the
last financial year. No doubt there were children living in those households. National
raised benefits by
$25/week and then dropped 31,000 people (!) from it. It seems that the attack on
beneficiaries is slightly more sophisticated now compared to the 90s. Their
social and economic policy is such a massive failure that it does not matter
whether people are on the benefit or working.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No matter how anyone looks at it, 300,000+ children living
in poverty is disastrous for our economy. And so I am going to subvert the
spirit of Christmas and say that this economic failure is going to personally disastrous
for me. I am going to be selfish. Child poverty is not in my 'material self-interest'. After the current home-owning wealthy baby-boomers
are long gone, I will be in my 60s and these kids are going to be in their peak
working age. The statistical association between them and their likelihood of
having lower earnings, being less productive, being more likely to commit crime, and having poor health is high. That is a fact. Not only will they not be
contributing to my society, I will be bearing the economic cost in the form of
rising public health costs and an expensive justice system. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If we are in fact going to be discussing morality, I would
rather my tax dollars go towards the well-being of a child rather than housing
an adult in prison. A latter position is unarguably immoral. Letting ideology get in the way of dealing with child poverty because one might have to be slightly socialist in the short term seems like a small price to pay. Yet I do not feel that argument has been made by the Opposition at all. A larger
participating workforce can only be good for our economy. It means more goods
and services being bought (yay Capitalism!). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Child poverty is an economic issue and as such it is an
economic failure. According to the Children’s Commissioner, <a href="http://www.occ.org.nz/assets/Uploads/EAG/Final-report/Final-report-Solutions-to-child-poverty-evidence-for-action.pdf">child
poverty costs us somewhere around $8 billion a year</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5652372332761185426#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>. To
be absolutely precise, this is an <i>economic
management</i> failure. Whether RNZ wants to call the government out via their headline is an editorial decision and the motivations behind
their headline choice is not known to me. Perhaps in the spirit of Christmas it
makes more sense to appeal to our moral obligations. But plainly put, this
is an economic management failure. And as such, I will put the blame
squarely at this Government’s feet. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
National has been far more successful in its messaging on
almost all of the issues. Our political discourse is now much more cynical. We
look at how something (whether policy or action) will play with the public
rather than the merits of that something. And if that really is the case, I
think it is time we start talking about child poverty in economic terms rather
than moral terms. Because I think this government has lost its moral compass
and as such cannot provide leadership on that. And in the absence of leadership, I do
not think appealing to moral conscious is working. I do not know if it is the
GFC or years of neo-liberal economic policy that has hardened us, but I feel our
empathy levels are very much exaggerated. Yes, during times of national crisis we are
really good at coming together but that is not just a Kiwi thing. That is a
human thing. All countries do it. Underlying our sporadic empathy burst however, is a lot of apathy, distrust of poor people, bigotry, and selfishness.
But if I am wrong, how is 300,000 children in poverty not a national
crisis? How is fixing it not our #1 priority? How can we be so heartless? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Merry Christmas and thanks for reading. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
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<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5652372332761185426#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Harry
J. Holzer, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach , Greg J. Duncan, and Jens Ludwig, “The
economic costs of childhood poverty in the United States” <i>Journal of Children and Poverty</i> Vol. 14, No. 1, March 2008, 41-61<span lang="EN-NZ"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5652372332761185426#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Expert
Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty (Office of Children’s
Commissioner), “Solutions Child Poverty in New Zealand: Evidence for Action”,
December 2012 <span lang="EN-NZ"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-52074984910698185062015-12-05T11:03:00.002-08:002015-12-05T11:03:42.870-08:00You don't actually want peace.<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m not a religious scholar but it is always laughable to me
when people say Islamic texts are inherently violent. Without examining the
context within which they were written, pretty much all religious texts can be
interpreted negatively. And they are. Islam is about 600 years newer than
Christianity and if one thinks back to Christianity in the 1400s, one can
easily find out how violent Christianity was capable of. It takes a long
time for any kind of religious reformation to happen and it never stops. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t think the Bible itself has changed too much but the
way it is interpreted is markedly different now from even 100 years ago. And in
fact, reformation in Christianity still continues. The Pope himself seems to be
ushering in a new brand of Catholicism. People have a problem with Sunni and
Shia divisions, yet everyone seems to accept the 10+ different brands of Christianity that have developed over time and
block out the clashes between Catholics and Protestants. Even now, even in
America – in the so called land of the free, Christian groups want to stop
progress. They would take away women’s right to choose and LGBTQIA people’s
right to even exist. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I myself grew up in a fairly progressive but devout
household. My maternal grandfather was an Islamic scholar and taught me to read
the Quran. My paternal grandfather built a Mosque and Madrasa right in front of
our family home in Bangladesh. But growing up, none of the women in my family
wore a burka or even a hijab (my dad is one of 9 siblings and my mum is one of
6, so no shortage of women in the family). But this has changed in the last
decade. A lot of my cousins and primary school friends have started to wear the
hijab and it has become sort of a cross between fashion statement and distinguishing
socio-economic factor. Wealthier folks tend to be embracing this new “religion
as a fashion statement” movement. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many in western countries seem to think that Islam needs
reformation. They are not incorrect but my observation is that Islam was
already on the path to reform well before the western world took any notice. <b><u>People think Islam needs reformation
because of terrorism, whereas Muslims like myself think terrorism is what’s
stopping actual reformation.</u></b> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The victims of Islamic terrorism are overwhelmingly Muslim.
The countries that are root cause of this problem are tied to the United States
and Europe. When I look at pictures of Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan
in the 70s and how progressive women’s clothing was and compare them to the
situation now it becomes very obvious to me that Islam was already being
practiced in conjunction with progressivism but it was halted. War and
political unrest fueled by US and UK involvement has not only prevented
reformation, it has taken it backwards. In the absence of personal security,
people turn to their faith and anyone who can promise them security. People are
afraid and most importantly terrorists and their ideology have a lot of power - the combination has proven to be lethal to all who are involved. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Progressive Muslims are not backed by anyone. Feminists,
academics, and scholars are working independently to try to affect change with
no help and constant threats. Think about the regimes that US and UK support,
think about the amount of war that is waged on innocent civilians, think about
how Muslims are treated in the Western world. All of this contributes to the
hostility we see all around the world. I have no problems reconciling my feminist
values with my faith but that seems to be incredulous to everyone because the
only interpretation of Islam anyone ever talks about is politicized Islam in
the context of terrorism and violence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is no doubt that Islam needs to be separated from the state’s
business. But this is challenging. Just look at Christianity in American politics.
There is no doubt that women’s voices have to be included in this reform. There is no doubt
that barbaric acts should be denounced whether they are in the name of religion
or notions of freedom and security. Our collective humanity cannot justify
torture for the security of wealthy white people while denouncing beheadings.
We cannot claim that Islam condones oppression of women when domestic violence
and our rape culture continues to oppress women in our own society. New Zealand
is not an Islamic country, so then why are women oppressed here?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eradication of Islam will not eradicate terrorism. We need
to fundamentally re-think our foreign and military policy, our allies, and who
we fund in order to eradicate terrorism. Self-determination, implementation of
universal human rights, democracy in the form people’s ability to participate
in free elections, economic security, and freedom from war is the antidote to
terrorism and a progressive Islam. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People ask for liberal voices in Islam. Well I am here but nobody actually wants to listen to me or those who are like me. White men in power and hawks who control the military agenda don't actually want to listen to us. They would rather put terrorists on a pedestal on our behalf and listen to their rhetoric. Fox News would laugh at us. Illegitimate "leaders of Islam" would put fatwas on us. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All the while Rome burns.<o:p></o:p></div>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-54629781893741951952015-11-01T11:26:00.001-08:002015-11-01T22:28:51.980-08:00On Twitter, free speech, and activism.<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple of
days ago I pointed out Whale Oil’s post on ISIS and Palestinians and his call
to kill all Muslims on Twitter. Giving oxygen to Whale Oil’s hateful rhetoric
is obviously counterproductive and many people responded to me by saying it is
best to ignore. And perhaps they are right. As a Kiwi Muslim, while it is hard
for me to stomach it, I have enough experience with bigotry to know that these
views are prevalent and accepted in NZ and there’s not much I can do about it
by drawing more attention. However, WO (Whale Oil) has a close and personal
relationship with our Prime Minister and several other National MPs including
Judith Collins who has referred to him as a close friend. It is troubling to me
that our nation’s lawmakers and leaders are so comfortable associating with a
deeply troubled and bigoted man and that it is accepted as normal. What I
presume John Key and others would say is that he is entitled to his view but
that shouldn’t stop their friendship. Fair enough. I myself might be knowingly or
unknowingly “friends” with people who have questionable positions but I
certainly would not take political advice for them. And if I was a in a political
position, I would not be texting them regularly and then deleting those texts.
That is what troubles me. And that is why I tweeted that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following
my tweets, some people tried to defend his post by saying that it was not about
Muslims but about ISIS and Palestine and that I was trying to limit his free
speech. Let’s make one thing clear, I have absolutely no power to limit his
speech. I only have the power to criticize and that is my right. Some did try
to point to legislation that could be used to stop him and were quickly
corrected on the limits of the law. It shouldn’t be shocking to people, that a call to kill entire groups of people was upsetting to some folks and made them want to
put a stop to it. Bigotry induced desires to KILL entire groups of people
should make everyone upset. Because that post wasn’t *just* about ISIS and
Palestine. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At one
point a person tried to tag WO into my tweets, which I found highly offensive and frankly scary.
I think one of the problems with Twitter is the misguided belief that it is an
equal playing field for all voices. It absolutely is not. There are many many
documentations of transgender people, women, PwD (people with disability), and PoC
(people of colour) facing violent and distressing threats on Twitter and other social media. These threats
include murder, rape, assault, and extremely degrading language. This is taken
lightly by many because it is not considered “actual harm”. As someone who has
faced milder versions of this, I can assure you it is absolutely “actual harm”.
I have been harassed on Twitter, Facebook, and via email. I am utterly helpless
to stop this harassment as it continues to this day and it takes a horrifying
emotional toll. People have told me to leave twitter and stop engaging. I see
this as equivalent to being told to stop wearing short skirts in order to not
be raped. Why should I have to stop using a public platform? And while people
do condemn those who make these threats, they don’t seem to want to make
stopping them a priority. They, however, have no problems using their time and
energy to tell me to leave social media – literally one of the only mediums
available to me to speak out. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I digress.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Under no
circumstances should WO have been tagged into that conversation. He is a
dangerous person who actively tries to destroy people by finding out personal
information about them and using it against them. This is well documented. And
even if one were to be unware of the history, my deliberate exclusion of his
handle should have been enough of an indication that he should not be involved
in that conversation. This person, I am told, now has deleted that tweet. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This leads
me to a broader topic of New Zealand Twitter and particularly the recent
vitriol against political twitter users by some journalists and political
commentators. There is anecdotal evidence that the most politically engaged
users of Twitter fall into the “left wing” category. This has not been empirically
tested at all and is only based on follower counts and number of tweets. Any
number of social media experts can explain that follower counts is not an
indication of engagement. However, most people who comment on Twitter as supposed
“outsiders” are actually completely ignorant of how social media reach works
and its use as a tool. So they make broad assumptions and write “provocative
stories” designed to dismiss and poke fun at Twitter. Bryce Edwards, a political
science lecturer and popular commentator on NZ Herald and on TV has twice used
my tweets in his columns to say that I had been “complaining”. And I’m not the
only one that has been subject to his subtle denigration. </span></span><br>
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br></span>
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.matthewbeveridge.co.nz/politics/mass-media-vs-social-media-a-nz-case-study/">I have written in the past with Matthew Beveridge</a> on the use of Twitter as source of stories. “Twitter
reaction” has become fodder for stories not just in New Zealand but all around
the world. Twitter is often first to break on the ground news and every day
citizens have now become “reporters”. My personal observation is that this has
led to resentments among the more established commentators and reporters.
Anyone can now call themselves a “commentator” and that makes some people
extremely uncomfortable. For example, 10 years ago hardly anyone was
questioning media narrative and coverage about transgender people even though
they had been literally dying because of their gender identity. Now that marriage
equality is becoming a ‘settled matter’ in the developed western world, other
LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual)
issues are starting to take prominence. Many people who fall in this category
have been told to wait for their turn and they are now taking their turn and
refusing to wait. Unsurprisingly this makes those who are in positions of
power, those who have benefited for oppressing these groups, extremely uncomfortable.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allies are
forming. Intersectional feminism is gaining confidence. And one of the most
important tools they/we have is social media. The biggest benefit of social media is our ability to form social movements and groups without the need
to be in the same place physically. This means that lack of funds to travel, lack
of time to invest is no longer a big barrier to engagement. One can have a
full time job and still participate and submit a counterpoint publicly. And
when large groups of people are mobilizing to educate and disrupt the narrative
enough to the point that mainstream media is taking notice and having to report
on it, it is very problematic for those in power. Calls for more PoC, women,
LGBTQIA, PwD representation are only going to get louder and proportional representation
is only bad news for one specific group – white CIS heterosexual able bodied
males. </span></span><br>
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></span>
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If we were to have a hierarchy of privilege, there is absolutely no
question that they are the most powerful in the New Zealand governance. Whether
it is Cabinet, House of Representatives, board rooms, Chief Executives, media,
business, they are the ones in power. And
so it is no surprise that this group has the biggest problem with alternative
voices on Twitter. That is not to say they are the only culprits by no means at
all. But they are undoubtedly the majority. As for why, my explanation is that
if it isn’t motivated by explicit hate and bigotry, is it absolutely motivated
by fear, fear of diluted power. One of the Fairfax journalist who is
particularly peeved has been Tweeting non-stop about this: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What’s particularly
hilarious is that gossip is not even limited to Twitter. In my experience,
everyone gossips – yes, including men. The fact that people are forming social
groups on Twitter and that it leads to the occasional gossip should not be
surprising or of any concern to him. I have no doubt people say things about me
behind my back – I tweet a lot of ridiculous things. If people want to gossip,
they can. People gossip about people in real life so why should social media be
any different? What is interesting here is the use of the word “toxic” and “cleanse”.
He obviously wants to get a reaction out of some people because those words are
deliberate. I don’t know if he did or not but it is highly disturbing to see
someone who has access to one of the most powerful communication platforms in
New Zealand – Fairfax – try to shut down opinions of the general public on
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Twitter!
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twitter,
which has been declared a left wing echo chamber, apparently needs cleaning out
because the conversation is not to his liking. How ironic and how pitiful. Schrodinger’s
Twitter has managed to be utterly pointless and all powerful all at the same
time depending on whether they have a story they need to write and they can’t
think of a topic. The discomfort that he is feeling isn’t limited to him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">White
feminists are being forced to think about other kinds of misogyny and while
there is some resistance, there is a lot of positive collaboration happening. I
am hopeful. As a PoC feminist, I think allies are important. And there are a
good number of cis white heterosexual men on Twitter and in life are helpful
allies. But the sheer number of people from this group who don’t want to listen,
change ingrained behaviours that are proven harmful, and make room for alternate
viewpoints that challenge the status quo is apparent. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was not
always this person. When I was 15, I firmly believed being gay was wrong. I had
been raised to believe that and in fact I had such a sheltered life that I didn’t
even know gay people existed before I was 15. Obviously that changed and when I
made the effort to think about it on a logical and rational level, I was forced
to abandon my utterly bigoted beliefs. When I try to think about this change, I
don’t recall feeling personally attacked when people tried to explain to me why
my beliefs were misguided. Instead of questioning the people and their experiences,
I questioned my religion and my faith. If my faith could not accommodate accepting
people as they want to be, as who they are, with all the equal rights and
freedoms that I had, then I had to rethink my own worldview. But most people
don’t want to do the same because faith is seen as irreproachable and the absolute
truth despite the fact that there are thousands of religions in the world with
different interpretations of God. And those who are not guided by faith are
guided by some other ingrained value that they are unwilling to question. In
the end it is all the same. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not
going to lie, there were a couple of extremely uncomfortable years as I tried to
reconcile the accepted bigoted beliefs that were prevalent in my faith and my
rational conclusions of the world. And I think my views are still being
challenged. Twitter is the first place I learned about non-binary folks. After
being raised and having lived in a society that are so rigidly divided by
genders with particular gender norms ingrained into my brain, getting out of that
viewpoint took some thought. There were times I may have said things that were
probably not the right things to say and there were times I assumed gender
identity of people that was not right. I was wrong. There is no way around it.
And I’m still learning. I go about my fairly comfortable life, working,
Tweeting, instagramming lunch like very other millennial and sometimes someone
writes a post on chronic illness/pain or struggle with depression/anxiety and I
am forced to think about how privileged I am – this is a good thing. This
forces me to think about the kind of changes I want to see in our society to
ease the suffering. As a student of public policy, it forces me to think about
people I wouldn’t think to think about first. Social media gives me the chance
to <b><u>testify and amplify</u></b>. I can share my experiences and challenges of trying to
be seen as an equal member of the society and I can amplify the voices who are
facing other kinds of experiences and challenges. And then, there was also this: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What he fails to understand is perfectly summed up by his colleague at NZ Herald:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Social media
is not an absolute safe place but it is a great place to bring and challenge
voices. The idea that nobody can be corrected or that groups shouldn’t create
rules or conventions to make it safe and minimize the risk, is ludicrous and in no way is "bullying". We are not going to be
tagging in dangerous people into our conversations just because we are talking
about them. We <i>are</i> going to point out
when some speech is offensive and dangerous. What we do will make certain
privileged groups uncomfortable. Change has never been comfortable. So no, you
can’t ‘cleanse Twitter’. And no, ‘Twitter’ isn’t toxic, denigration of
marginalized groups for speaking out is. Here’s the thing – if you don’t like
it, <i>you</i> are more than welcome to show yourself out. They will no doubt continue
to put you on TV and radio and print your columns and people who look like you and represent your interests will continue to run this country. The rest of us don't have that luxury. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-12146643473342361562015-07-31T13:24:00.002-07:002015-07-31T13:25:05.403-07:00On arming the police<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
Last year when people were questioning whether <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/08/police_in_ferguson_military_weapons_threaten_protesters.html"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #b11623; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">police forces in the
United States have become too militarized</span></a>, the president of New
Zealand’s police association (NZPA) <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/256826/call-for-police-to-be-fully-armed"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #b11623; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> called for our police to
be “fully armed”.</span></a> He <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20154622"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #b11623; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">claimed</span></a> that
incidents that might require a police having to use a fire arm are not
“isolated” incidents. <o:p></o:p><br />
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At the time I found myself with questions. Questions that I have
not seen any answers to. Either crime is dropping or this stuff is not isolated.
They can’t both be true. And what does it mean to be fully armed? Just a gun?
Or do we want to head towards US-style militarized police?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Someone went on a “psychotic episode” according the president –
and Mr. O’Conor’s response was that police need to have guns. Wouldn’t the cost
of arming our police officers be better spent in mental healthcare services? When
tasers were brought up, he said “Tasers are never an option against any
scenario involving a firearm”. However yesterday, it was announced that tasers
can now be carried by those who are trained at all times on-duty. Police
Commissioner Mike Bush thinks that the feedback from frontline staff merits
this change, which will lead to more effective “staff and public safety”. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Last year O’Conor said that apparently our “police officers are
already in danger” and it’s only a matter of time when something worse will
happen. So basically his advice was we should transition from a routinely
unarmed police force to an armed one because of something that might happen. I
wouldn’t call that effective or evidence based policy-making.<o:p></o:p><br />
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At the time Mr. O’ Conor also claimed that New Zealand police
officers are shot at greater numbers proportionally compared to Australia. Well
that’s not good. But I’d like to see the numbers. What is he basing that on? I
don’t recall anyone asking him what the actual number is. Then the <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20154634"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #b11623; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Police Commissioner said</span></a> that
arming the police would change their relationship with the public beyond
repair, and it was incorrect to say that the Police Association was talking on
behalf of all police staff. So I did a little bit of a digging (not
comprehensive) to see what work has been done on arming of the police. There’s
lots of stories on the UK but it’s really hard to find a lot of substantive
information.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/people/phd/hendy_ross/"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #b11623; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ross Hendy</span></a> at
the University of Cambridge is looking into routinely unarmed police officers
and their police-citizen interactions in England, New Zealand, and Norway for
his PhD. He also wrote an article in the Policing Journal looking at
Scandinavian experience of routinely armed and unarmed police in the context of
New Zealand’s on-going arming conversation. In his paper he mentions that a survey of the NZPA in 2010 found
that 72% wanted to be armed – decreasing to 63% in 2013. Yet news
articles have reported that the NZPA unanimously wanted to be armed. Which is it?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br />
Hendy surveyed Scandinavian police officers and Norwegians – who
like the Kiwis have their guns in their cars – had interesting perspectives.
The whole article was interesting, but here’s what one Norwegian officer said:</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #666666; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;">“We have, as you may know, the firearms … with us in the cars. It
take[s] me less than a minute to take them out and be ready to use them. In my
opinion the most sufficient argument is that it gives us time to think instead
of getting the sidearm on the hip and just running in to solve a case … As a
result of not thinking over the situation, they [are] getting into [a situation
where] they will be forced to use their firearm instead of using time to think.
It’s not that much time I am talking about, maybe a minute, two minutes, three
minutes; maybe we get some assistance as four officers are a better job than
two. … It’s important for the mental preparation…”</span></i></blockquote>
</div>
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The article goes on to analyze how the arming is more about the
police <i>feeling</i> safe rather than actually <i>being</i> safe. What still remains are many questions
as to what we want from our police and what our country needs. Should arming the police be our priority or are other changes
within NZ Police more important? Police culture? Their interaction with the
public? At present the discussion is about tasers and not guns and this from
lawyer Graeme Edgeler is useful: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Every time a cop shoots someone there is an automatic referral to the IPCA. If tasers replace guns, send every taser use there as well.</div>
— Graeme Edgeler (@GraemeEdgeler) <a href="https://twitter.com/GraemeEdgeler/status/626912251245654016">July 31, 2015</a> </blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
The public needs to understand the power that the state can wield
via the police. The police need to understand the limitations of that power.
All of this has to happen in the context of public safety. Perhaps recent news
about US Police’s interaction with the public clouds my judgement but with
police brutality constantly in the news, one cannot be too cautious. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b>Some articles I read for this blog:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Hamish McCarldel and Mike Webb, (2010) “Inviting Public
Conversations about Policing: Experiences from New Zealand” <i>Policing</i> vol. 4 no. 3 pp. 211-217.<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Ross Hendy, (2014) “Routinely Armed and Unarmed Police: What
can the Scandinavian Experience Teach us? <i>Policing </i>vol. 8 no.
2 pp. 183-192.<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://umr.co.nz/sites/umr/files/finalreport-28mar07-whatnzpublicwantfromtheirpolice-mar07.pdf"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #b11623; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">UMR Research, (March
2007) “What the New Zealand Public Want and Expect from their Police in
the 21st Century”</span></a><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/resources/other-reports/Research-report.pdf"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #b11623; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Gravitas Research
Report prepared for New Zealand Police, (September 2009) “NEW ZEALAND
POLICE – CITIZENS’ SATISFACTION SURVEY: Final Report For Year Two Results
(July 2008 – June 2009)</span></a><o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<br />
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A version of this blogpost first appeared on
<a href="http://ontheleftnz.com/2014/10/29/arming-police-evidence-based-policy-or-populist-wishlist/">ontheleft.com</a> on October 29, 2014<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-52592496945991276412015-07-26T10:38:00.000-07:002015-07-26T12:45:34.945-07:00Reporting poll results under MMP<div class="MsoNormal">
This topic has been on my mind for quite some time and has
been discussed at length on Twitter. Under MMP, is it useful to present
National vs. Labour anymore? The electoral landscape of New Zealand is not only
multi-party but multi-tiered between the party vote and the electorate vote.
The Māori Party, United Future and ACT wield considerable power based on their
electorate support that is disproportional to their overall party support. I
do not think this is a bad thing per se. If you are a good electorate MP or if
you are of some use to the governing coalition, then so be it. This is the way
our electoral system is currently set up. However, the problem is that National
basically monopolizes 'the right' in party vote and no other party on 'the left' has that capability. 'The left' is far more fragmented in terms of party allegiance. I, for one, think this is a good thing for the left. People who identify with 'the left' have choices and there is also far more robust policy discussions. The Greens and New Zealand First are formidable ‘opposition’ parties and when taken
their support into account the wedge between the Government and the Opposition
is much smaller. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This morning Radio Live tweeted the following:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
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Latest 3 News political opinion poll good news for Labour and the minor parties - Labour barely moved on around 31%, National's on 47%</div>
— RadioLIVE Newsroom (@LIVENewsDesk) <a href="https://twitter.com/LIVENewsDesk/status/625338648641146880">July 26, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
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This is a factually correct tweet but ultimately useless under
MMP. <a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/poll-61pct-want-to-ban-foreign-buyers-2015072617#axzz3gs2R4j6t">Let’s take last night’s complete poll results</a> for instance – <o:p></o:p></div>
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National: 47%, Labour: 31.1%, Greens: 11.4%, NZ First: 8.4%,
Conservatives: 0.7%, Māori: 0.6%, ACT: 0.5%, UF: 0.1%<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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When comparing National vs Labour, the numbers for the left
seems grim indeed. So let’s rearrange them differently: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2gP59mNCJtA/VbUWV3WCoeI/AAAAAAAAAak/1wXxJY25lDg/s1600/polling.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2gP59mNCJtA/VbUWV3WCoeI/AAAAAAAAAak/1wXxJY25lDg/s320/polling.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*The reason I have Conservatives as “irrelevant” is because not only are they not in Parliament, it is unclear whether they would fall under “opposition”. They seem to be ideologically aligned to the right but at the same time seem to run on a platform of “opposing” the government.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The numbers look extremely different and not as grim one might add. Now, many will say that it is not fair to put NZ First with
the “opposition” when they <b>a)</b> would not necessarily want to work with the Greens <b>and b)</b> could
potentially end up in coalition with National. This is a fair point. However, I
deliberately do not call it “the left”. I call it "the opposition" because my
assumption is that if folks are choosing New Zealand First, they have a problem
with the current government, its policy agenda, and/or its leadership. Even if we take out NZ First from the "opposition", the fight seems to lie in roughly 10% of the electorate rather than the roughly 20% when presented as National vs Labour. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
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Next year, we would have had the MMP electoral system for 20
years. There are folks who vote in NZ elections who have never voted under (First
Past the Post) FPP, including yours truly. The National vs Labour narrative is
wholly useless to us once we take into account strategic voting in Ōhāriu,
Epsom and Māori electorates as well split votes in places like Wellington
Central. There is no democratic efficacy in this kind of reporting and I believe that our established media should reconsider the way they
report poll numbers in the interest of democratic principles. <o:p></o:p></div>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-10331248024198231062015-07-25T13:05:00.000-07:002015-07-25T13:19:28.803-07:00Sunday feature: What is actually going on with Serco? <div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 5pt;">
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<span style="color: #222222;">First there was the “fight club” </span><a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11484085">allegations</a><span style="color: #222222;"> –</span></div>
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<i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333;">Private prison company Serco has admitted it received reports
of organised "fight clubs" in its prisons two months ago but will
only investigate now, after fight footage was shot and shared online.</span></i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333;">Then Labour’s Kelvin Davis
<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/70430826/prisoner-death-claim-by-labour-mp-kelvin-davis-over-fight-club-allegation.html">brought into light</a> an “initiation ritual” at the Mt Eden prison called
“dropping”. Apparently prisoners are thrown over a balcony as part of the
initiation. This may have even led to a person’s death in the Serco-run prison
which was kept quiet until now and has been dismissed as well. </span></div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Corrections boss says prisoner fell off balcony after being chased and assaulted by another inmate, was not "dropped".</div>
— Aimee Gulliver (@aimeegulliver) <a href="https://twitter.com/aimeegulliver/status/623985002548609024">July 22, 2015</a></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white;">We may never know what actually happened to the prisoner in Mt Eden because it has turned into a case of "maybe" or "maybe not" and "allegations" not "facts".</span><br />
<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZtyJ1jXCgY/VbPtWH7msgI/AAAAAAAAAaM/3dygT_Nqp7M/s1600/201103_Police_103530_300x200.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZtyJ1jXCgY/VbPtWH7msgI/AAAAAAAAAaM/3dygT_Nqp7M/s1600/201103_Police_103530_300x200.jpeg" style="cursor: move;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then Minister of Correction Judith Collins <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10715981">at opening. </a><br />From: NZPA</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/64016665/exprisoner-describes-life-behind-bars">Last
year Fairfax ran a story</a> of an ex-prisoner describing his life behind bars
at Serco-run Mt Eden. The description is fairly horrific and of course dismissed
by officials. The prisoner spoke of being deprived of basic necessities such
as toilet paper and how the prisoners threatened to riot. Back in 2011, <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10744112">there
was another story</a> about how Serco was accused of “<i>bribing inmates with
bigger helpings and food and television in their cells to encourage them to
behave</i>”. They probably weren’t getting strawberry shortcake or whatever stock photo
Herald decided to use and dessert really isn’t the issue here. This accusation
came from the prison officers’ union known as the Corrections Association who
also suggested that this “<i>allowed the private prison operator to get by with a
skeleton crew but guards were feeling vulnerable and leaving on a daily basis</i>”. </span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333;"></span><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333;"></span>
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333;">It makes one wonder what
kind of due diligence the government actually did before awarding the contract.
Early this year <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/8ed1f97e-b040-11e4-a2cc-00144feab7de.html#slide0">there
was a Financial Times article</a> featuring a former Serco executive Richard
Johnson who said Serco tries to win contracts at any costs and because they are aware
that governments usually award the contract to the cheapest bidder, they will
spend the money upfront to get the contract and then cut corners later to make
it the cheapest bid. He added - </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #292f33;">"<i>The trouble with poor outsourcing contracts is that “no
one wins in the end — not the government, not the contractor...</i>" </span><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/70498362/mt-eden-prison-has-most-inmate-assaults-in-new-zealand">New figures released this week</a> shows that Mt Eden priosn run by Serco has the most inmate assaults in New Zealand. We certainly aren't winning. The idea behind contracting out public services is that the <a href="http://www.corrections.govt.nz/about_us/working_with_us/partners/service_providers-Serco.html">private
sector will bring innovations</a> to the public sector. And while the majority
of New Zealanders might not care about what happens to prisoners, what Serco
is doing isn’t innovation. It is mostly about cutting costs and making a
profit which is unsurprising. There's a difference between working profits and working within a budget which what governments do. Comparing government to industry is basically like comparing apples and snakes. Yes, I said snakes because at least apples and oranges are both fruits. Privatization is usually about transferring public wealth to private profits and it is usually driven by "knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing" in the words of Oscar Wilde.<br />
<br />
This isn't the first time this has happened in New Zealand and New Zealand isn't the only place either. The previous National govt also allowed Mt. Eden to be run by the private sector, but that contract was canned by Labour and Alliance in 2005. I'm not suggesting that privatization is the sole problem either. The problem is even if the prison system wasn't privatized our Ministers probably wouldn't take responsibility. They would say it's an operational matter.<br />
<span style="background: #F5F8FA; color: #292f33; letter-spacing: .2pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><span style="background: #F5F8FA; color: #292f33; letter-spacing: .2pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span>
<span style="background: #F5F8FA; color: #292f33; letter-spacing: .2pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Meanwhile <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11713340/Prisoner-custody-officer-dies-after-being-beaten-by-a-prisoner.html">a prisoner custody officer died</a>
after being beaten by a prisoner in a Serco run prison in the UK earlier this
month. In Australia, the </span><span style="background: #F5F8FA; color: #292f33; letter-spacing: .2pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/29002123/fsh-review-blasts-serco-contract/">Fiona Stanley Hospital review</a> blasted its Serco contract. And </span><a href="http://www.lincolnshireecho.co.uk/Serco-schools-chaos-teachers-challenge-official/story-27477276-detail/story.html#ixzz3gqszSK3f">s</a><span style="background: #F5F8FA; color: #292f33; letter-spacing: .2pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.lincolnshireecho.co.uk/Serco-schools-chaos-teachers-challenge-official/story-27477276-detail/story.html#ixzz3gqszSK3f">chool staff in Lincolnshire</a> are "still not being
paid" despite Serco and county council's assurances. These stories are all from this year and doesn't in anyway represent the magnitude of Serco's problems. But b</span>ack to New Zealand. There’s absolutely no doubt
that Serco has been in breach of contract. For instance see below from the
contract and how much a prisoner's death is wroth in our society. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DUMPiUx-nos/VbPmefGsN0I/AAAAAAAAAZg/IWl1jU5hgGM/s1600/IMG_8652.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DUMPiUx-nos/VbPmefGsN0I/AAAAAAAAAZg/IWl1jU5hgGM/s640/IMG_8652.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FQaKvbmwCt0/VbPmdalf7oI/AAAAAAAAAZY/zjRqj1RTDLs/s1600/IMG_8651.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="454" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FQaKvbmwCt0/VbPmdalf7oI/AAAAAAAAAZY/zjRqj1RTDLs/s640/IMG_8651.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gi7PzY9VUQU/VbPoUyTHVpI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/iKpIBQx72vc/s1600/IMG_8643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gi7PzY9VUQU/VbPoUyTHVpI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/iKpIBQx72vc/s320/IMG_8643.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333;"></span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333;">This explains the fact
Minister Tolley initially was fairly dismissive of about prisoner safety
calling them “bad people”. Mt Eden is a remand prison and she was deliberately
ignoring the fact that these people haven’t been found guilty in a court of
law. While it might not be unusual for there to be violence in prisons, it shouldn't be accepted. And breaking the law doesn't make people "bad". That kind of primitive thinking is what leads to an ineffective justice system but perhaps that is for another blog. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
Over the weekend there were multiple stories with various
titles suggesting that the Government was taking over Mt Eden prison following
the accusations. This is extremely misleading because the government isn’t
actually taking over but merely bringing in “<i>upto 20 people to oversee the
day-to-day running of the jail for the immediate future</i>”. It is misleading
because the contract hasn’t been terminated.<br />
<br />
As Max Harris rightly says, <a href="http://t.co/3g7XZNBejU">Serco’s contract</a> with the government does
allow that. And further to that:</div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Why has National govt not terminated theSerco contract? Cl 29.1(e): terminate if "material breach" of contract. <a href="https://twitter.com/NgatiBird">@NgatiBird</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/aimeegulliver">@aimeegulliver</a></div>
— Max Harris (@mdnharris) <a href="https://twitter.com/mdnharris/status/624614953585000448">July 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
and... <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
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No need for Performance Notice for material breach. Could be breach of cl 8.1: req to perform services "with due care, skill, and diligence"</div>
— Max Harris (@mdnharris) <a href="https://twitter.com/mdnharris/status/624616091084435456">July 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 5pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And it seems the Serco and the Minister have very
different ideas of what is actually happening. Again Max Harris points out: </span></div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
<div dir="ltr" lang="fr">
Compare Corrections' comment on Serco/Mt Eden - <a href="http://t.co/MgLZksBqCL">http://t.co/MgLZksBqCL</a> - w/ statement by Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga: <a href="https://t.co/jYKlVtvVsf">https://t.co/jYKlVtvVsf</a> (1)</div>
— Max Harris (@mdnharris) <a href="https://twitter.com/mdnharris/status/624656450003038213">July 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
and...<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Corrections don't describe it as a taking over of the prison; it's a "stepping-in" to oversee. The Minister uses "take over" twice (2)</div>
— Max Harris (@mdnharris) <a href="https://twitter.com/mdnharris/status/624656833878298624">July 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 5pt;">
<br />
<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11485646">Serco has been fined</a> $300,000 in the past and we still don’t
know what it was about. The lack of transparency which has been a hallmark of
this government now extends to those we contract out to as well. <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1012/S00480/serco-awarded-prison-contract-in-auckland-new-zealand.htm">Serco’s
10 year contract is valued at</a> around $300million AUD and it's overall revenue globally is around $9billion NZD, so these fines may
seem substantial but there is no doubt they will do everything they can to
recoup those costs and it will at the expense of prisoners who aren’t seen as
humans deserving dignity already by this government.<br />
<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On Saturday, <a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/government-still-a-fan-of-private-prisons-2015072512?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#axzz3gs2R4j6t">TV3
ran a story</a> whose headline was <i>Government
still a fan of private prisons. </i></span>With the Sky City debacle, Charter school problems, talk
of further privatizations of housing and other social services, this should be
a huge concern. But this is a central ideological position of the right. They
can’t afford to be failure with Serco because this has the possibility to
undermine the entire government agenda.</span></div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
So how good an idea is social bonds looking right now? Hmm?</div>
— Kyle MacDonald (@kylemacd) <a href="https://twitter.com/kylemacd/status/624452038835830785">July 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-4029177869637000752015-07-11T13:45:00.001-07:002015-07-11T13:55:39.552-07:00These aren’t the xenophobes you are looking for<a href="http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11478719">Yesterday’sHerald story</a> on the housing crisis fueled by apparent Chinese foreign investment brought out the semi-regular discussion on xenophobia on social media. Suffice to say there are a bunch extremely defensive people who say that the data justifies the apparently non-xenophobic aversion towards Chinese house buyers. Labour absolutely made the wrong move defending their untenable position of picking on Chinese names to justify a policy proposal to ban foreign purchases.<br />
<br />
Here are some things they could have done:<br />
<br />
1. We have been given a list of Auckland home buyers from a specific realtor and we are deeply concerned at the suggestion that somehow Chinese people are to blame for the current housing crisis. We understand that foreign home buyers include people from China, Britain, America and a number of other countries but the government refuses to collect and publish that information making it extremely difficult to assess the impact of foreign ownership on New Zealand House prices. We reject xenophobic analysis of home-buyers using Chinese last names and instead ask that the government make efforts to collect information about non-resident home ownership.<br />
<br />
2. We are concerned about the lack of representation of Māori and Pasifika names on the list which suggests to us that any policy needs to include ways we can increase Māori and Pasifika home ownership given housing poverty among these groups are the highest in the nation. The government has continuously failed address this problem.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IgJqdKDH4lw/VaGB2CfmvKI/AAAAAAAAAEE/G89Bs85FNHY/s1600/Phil-Twyford-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IgJqdKDH4lw/VaGB2CfmvKI/AAAAAAAAAEE/G89Bs85FNHY/s200/Phil-Twyford-web.jpg" width="197" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;">Labour MP Phil Twyford</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
3. We think there are several factors that are driving house prices up and pushing Kiwis out of ownership. The Government urgently needs to consider policy options such as restricting foreign ownership, introducing a Capital Gains Tax, and finding ways to insure that wages keep up with housing costs. The government has failed to enact evidence-based policy to deal with the housing crisis that seems to be growing at an unprecedented pace.<br />
<br />
4. This is what Labour would do in Government [insert non-xenophobic policy proposal] and this is why we believe this will ease the crisis [insert non-xenophobic impact analysis].<br />
<br />
But Labour did not do this. Instead they sent one of their brightest performers, Phil Twyford, to go on The Nation and defend an allegation - foreign investment is shutting Kiwis out of the housing market - by using xenophobic data analysis based on extremely unreliable and inaccurate data.<br />
<br />
<br />Corner Politicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08267238401691409774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-6600211774895536032015-06-25T20:11:00.003-07:002016-08-29T10:00:10.819-07:00The Twitterati<div style="text-align: center;">
Once upon an avo dreary, while I pondered, bleak and sneery,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Over many a deleted and faved volume of forgotten lore—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
While I nodded, nearly fapping, suddenly there came a tapping,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
As of some one gently beeping, beeping at my notifications door.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
“’Tis the Twitterati,” I muttered, “beeping at my notifications door—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Only this and nothing more.”</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak September;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And each electorate a dying ember wrought its votes upon the floor.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Desperately I felt the sorrow;—Mainly I thought it bizarro</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost candor—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For the rare and perfect discourse which the Twitterati always bore—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Nameless here for evermore.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And the silken, sad, beat of the faving of each blue tweet</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic errors never felt before;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So that now, to still the retweeting, I stood repeating</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
“’Tis some Twitterati entreating entrance at my Twitter floor</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my notifications door;—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This it is and nothing more.”</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Presently my fingers grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
“Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your disappearance I implore;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But the fact is I was fapping, and so gently you came beeping,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And so faintly you came beeping, beeping at my notifications door,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door;—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Twitterati there and nothing more.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Deep into that interwebs peering, long I stared there wondering, fearing,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Doubting, dreaming dreams no journo ever dared to dream before;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But the Twitterati was unbroken, and their illness gave no token,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And the only thing there spoken was the whispered “biased, you’re”</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This I whispered, and a tweet beeped back “loser, sore”—</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Merely this and nothing more.</div>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-39426157702969377932015-06-23T12:52:00.001-07:002015-06-23T12:53:03.530-07:00In Plain Language: TPP (Part 2)<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/06/fast-track-passes-tpp-now-nearly-certain-pass-too">Today the US Senate passed</a> fast track authority (TPA) for the TPP. <a href="http://cornerpolitics.blogspot.com/2015/06/in-plain-language-tpp.html">I wrote about the implications</a> last week as there was some who viewed that this wasn't going to pass because it was being separated from the TAA. So now what does this mean?<br />
<br />
Basically POTUS now has powers that all other previous presidents have had when negotiating a trade deal. When the deal is completed and comes to Congress, it's "ratification" will be an up or down vote (no amendments) and with a simple majority. While this shores up the administration's negotiating powers the lack of TAA still poses a problem. That legislation is designed to protect US workers from job losses from the trade deal and the US politicians haven't come to an agreement on that. However, this is an issue for US domestic politics and has far less bearing on the actual deal or how it affects the rest of us.<br />
<br />
<b>So does that mean everything is over? </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
In short, yes. Probably. However, there is a period of time the TPP text will be available to the public before Congress votes. The public can consider it and persuade their representatives to give a down vote if they don't like the deal. If there is enough opposition in the US maybe the majority will vote against it which is highly unlikely. I stress this because it's basically impossible.<br />
<br />
<b>What does it mean for Kiwis? </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I think we should be afforded the same privilege. I think we should be able to see the text too just like Americans. I don't know what the timing of it will be but maybe if we also get to the see the text or Parliament doesn't get to vote on it until the text is available to Americans, we can buy some time until the next government. This also means the next government cannot be a National-led government. In short, we are fighting a losing battle. As I mentioned, our concerns are not the same as the Americans'. Our biggest concern should be our healthcare system and given the attack it's under due to the TPP, that should be the central issue. The problem is - most Kiwis were against asset sales and making that a central campaign issue didn't change the outcome of the election. The Brits love their NHS but threats of dismantling didn't stop the Tories from getting it.Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-42210592708895314892015-06-17T14:23:00.000-07:002015-06-17T15:07:33.291-07:00Refugee quota: What should NZ do? UPDATED: Some facts about previous refugee intake was incorrect which has been corrected.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2015/jun/17/greens-deliver-24bn-pension-budget-saving-for-tony-abbott-politics-live">There are serious allegations</a> that Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia may have authorized payment to people smugglers to turn back a boat headed towards us. <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/69380629/john-key-denies-knowledge-of-australia-smuggler-payoff">Our own Prime Minister could not shine any light</a> on the issue as per usual saying he didn't know and nor did he ask his counter-part. The refugee crisis exists worldwide and<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/15/worst-refugee-crisis-since-second-world-war-report-middle-east-africa-syria?CMP=share_btn_tw"> countries are being condemned</a> for their inaction. So what should New Zealand do?<br />
<br />
In New Zealand the refugee quota is 750 per year and the<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11466522"> Greens are calling for that to be increased</a> to 1,000. This should be welcome news for the left except for one little glitch. <a href="http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/6D69584E-60E0-4D16-93D8-F6C00BC384F1/0/refugeequotaarrivalsstatisticspack.pdf">Last year and the year before</a>, for example we met the quota. But the 4 years prior to that we did not meet the 750 quota. This begs the question - what is the point of increasing the refugee quota if we aren't even going to meet the existing quota?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/276448/govt-gets-scant-advice-on-refugee-quota">According to Radio NZ</a>, the government reviews its refugee quota every three years and the next review is slated for next year. However, Budget 2015/15 shows that that the government has already cut spending on refuges for the coming financial year. Essentially the government hasn't even allocated funds for the current level of refugees let alone increased refugees. At this point the government could easily give into the Greens and just raise the quota. Over at Curia, DPF is probably already polling the issue. But it won't make much material difference if we never actually meet the quota and fund it adequately.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/08/07/has-the-era-of-the-climate-change-refugee-begun/">Climate change refugees might be a looming issue</a> and we as a country haven't decided how we will deal with that. It is time we adequately funded Immigration NZ to meet the existing refugee quota. Let's all agree that we aren't going to meet this illusive budget surplus and even if we did what is the cost of that surplus? Human lives perishing at sea or in the hands of people smugglers. Can we live with that?Corner Politicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08267238401691409774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-26636035154945176922015-06-17T12:26:00.001-07:002015-06-17T18:12:41.051-07:00In Plain Language: TPPThe TPP is a complicated trade agreement between 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. In my opinion which is shared by many, the US is involved in this trade agreement to elbow out China's growing influence in the region. New Zealand already has a free trade agreement with China so from our perspective we just want to be open for business globally.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j9I1LwMsqaw/VYHJqE2VqhI/AAAAAAAAAYo/M3f56ansiFM/s1600/CHVZgE7VAAAz-li.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j9I1LwMsqaw/VYHJqE2VqhI/AAAAAAAAAYo/M3f56ansiFM/s200/CHVZgE7VAAAz-li.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div>
Much has been written about this agreement based on leaked documents because the text is not publicly available. I am sympathetic to the idea that it is difficult to conduct negotiations on such a level by making everything available. For instance, I myself worked briefly on Treaty negotiations and I know that it would be impossible if every step was constantly made public. However, and this is a big however, this agreement can be detrimental to Kiwis day to day lives with significant impact on our health system. It has been suggested that the agreement could lead to large pharmaceutical firms with powers to increase prices of drugs and limit access to cheaper generic drugs. <a href="http://t.co/3BSrvh0JLy">The corporate control of public health</a> should be extremely concerning to all New Zealanders. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>What is fast track authority and why is it important?</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Currently President Obama is seeking fast track authority from the US Congress which will allow him to pass the final version of the agreement with <u style="font-weight: bold;">a simple majority and no amendments</u> (this is very crucial for its success). This part of the legislation also includes a thing called the "Trade Adjustment Assistance" or TAA which is a program that will help workers in America who lose their jobs as a result of trade deals. Democrats are largely against this and that's why they have been voting down the fast track authority. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Experts believe that democrats would vote for the fast track authority on its own but for that to happen, the legislation would have to go back to committee and be separated. But this is also a problem because President Obama said he would veto fast track authority if it does not include the TAA. But could he change his mind to push forward the deal?<br />
<br />
UPDATE: It looks like maybe Obama will not veto a bill that is solely fast track authority. See this article <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/245370-obama-gop-revive-fast-track-bill">from the Hill.</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Why should we care about the TPP? </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://t.co/MzfwpnJQJi">Noam Chomsky calls</a> the TPP a neoliberal assult to maximize promit and domination which will lower wages and increase insecurity. <a href="http://t.co/pMDFRMdcM7">The New York Times also notes</a> the unlikely agreement between Republicans and Obama on the TPP calling it little more than enhanced corporation power branded as free trade. The TPP agreement goes well beyond trade and there's virtually no input on it through any democratic institutions because nobody is allowed to know what is in the text. We should not sleep soundly at night just because the TPP is facing roadblocks in the US. Their objections are different to ours and they are only looking out for their own economy. We should also be worried about our own and we should not rely on the US Congress to stop the TPP. We need to write to our MPs and register our own objections in our own voice. </div>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-54532348588097564152015-05-25T14:42:00.000-07:002015-05-25T14:42:42.616-07:00Blogging moratorium lifted! <div class="MsoNormal">
I am back! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Masters – check.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Resuming blogging – check (will ease into it). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://dimpost.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/thoughts-on-budget-2015/">Over at Dimpost</a>, DM says “neoliberalism is dead.” Good
riddance I say. But you cut off the head of one monster and another one
appears. Well this particular monster has been around for a while - silently gaining power in
the background waiting for its time in the limelight. The politics of populism
has always been around but never have politicians been able to master corporate
interest to be served by wielding public opinion. One would have thought that
after the 2009 GFC we would have reined in corporate interests in a big way
and for a while we tried but I think it’s safe to say that we largely
failed. The Koch Brothers in the US have announced they will donate $1 billion
to the 2016 Presidential Elections for the Republican candidate. That’s an extraordinary
amount of money. Yet, Americans seem largely ambivalent to this. Over in New
Zealand, no one can deny the influence of corporate interests over the current
government. Whether Warner Bros or SkyCity, we are willing to let our
representatives pass legislation that only favours them because we think
somehow it will favour us. Maybe it will. But I’m not convinced. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Budget 2015 has largely been an accounting exercise as Bill
English desperately tries to build his surplus legacy. Overshadowed by the
extremely popular Prime Minister, you can’t blame the guy for wanting to
achieve something tangible even though it makes little fiscal sense. Cuts
here and additions there does not make for good governance but I don’t think
that’s factored into re-election. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Re-election. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of my professors told me that it is the number one goal
of politicians and the only way for the public or businesses to achieve
anything is to exploit that. Businesses have resources that the public doesn’t so
it’s much harder for us to exploit their re-election goals. But we hold the vote. Thankfully
despite being “people”, corporations do not vote. But we have done an extremely poor job
of voting for our own interests or the interests of our fellow humans. Left
voters particularly have to justify their votes when their side loses which makes
very little sense to me. None of us should have to justify our votes.
Politicians, on the other hand, are required to justify their position and
decisions but these days they have no interest in answering our questions.
Whether Question Time or Post-Cab Press Conference, our beloved Prime Minister
is all too comfortable letting his impressive poll numbers do the talking. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I just finished a Master’s in Public Affairs and despite the
inspiring words from all the speeches, I feel slightly deflated about the
future. I worry that the current economic and political decisions will leave us worse
off in the long term. Expanding prison population, decreased access to quality
education, decreasing access to preventative health, looming climate change problems,
erosion of civil rights, growing inequality among other policy issues have left
me troubled. Neoliberalism maybe dead but self-interest of the few dictating
the lives of all is alive and well. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Watch this space as I try to find some solutions. <o:p></o:p></div>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-40898471705117419912014-09-26T21:10:00.000-07:002014-09-26T21:10:56.676-07:00Election and Labour reckons... <div class="MsoNormal">
Around the 2012 US Presidential Elections (while I was
working in the Labour Leader’s Office), I took a holiday to the United States.
Somehow I found myself at a debate watch party for the first debate between Romney and Obama in Denver
(where the first debate was being held, which Obama bombed) with a bunch of
youngish Republicans. One guy asked me, “So you work for the Labour Party in
New Zealand – that’s the equivalent of being a Democrat right?” My response
was, “Well actually, the ‘right wing’ party in our country is arguably more
left wing than the Democrats here, and I work for our ‘left wing’
party, which is too right wing for me.” He was confused and I think he definitely
thought I was more dangerous than a communist. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What this story shows is “the left” and “the right” is
pretty arbitrary. It makes a difference which country you are in, what the
political climate is, what the economic climate is, and at what point and time
you are speaking. There’s been much discussion about National’s lurch to the
right to increase support after their 2002 showing and the need for Labour to
do the same. People have all sorts of ideas about “what Labour should do”. A
friend of mine told me that Labour needed to focus more on “the economy”. When
I pressed him harder as to what he means by “the economy”, he didn’t seem to
have an answer. So let’s make one thing clear:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Poverty and income inequality IS a product of the so-called “economy”.</li>
<li>Housing crisis IS a product of the “economy”.</li>
<li>Inability to access adequate healthcare IS a product of the “economy”.</li>
<li>Inability to access higher education of choice IS a product of the “economy”.</li>
<li>Employment opportunities limited to part-time or low-wage IS a product
of the “economy”.</li>
<li>Climate change effects are a direct result of actions taken in the name
of the “economy”.</li>
<li>The privatization of law enforcement and access to the justice is an “economic”
decision.</li>
<li>Even mass surveillance is presented as necessary to protection our “economic”
interests.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many more but in essence, the difference between
public good and the protection of private interests is ALWAYS about the
economy. The question is, whether a government should engage in the former or
the latter? I see no evidence that National won because of “the economy”. I do
however, believe that they have successfully presented themselves as good
managers of “the economy” and that’s what won them the election. They didn’t
need to have a policy; not having a policy WAS their policy. Perhaps we as a
nation no longer believe that Government should intervene in “the economy”
because all of the things I have mentioned above are not associated with “the
economy”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s go back to the story I told you at the beginning of
this post. You might be wondering, if Labour doesn’t reflect your political
views, then why would you work for them? I not only worked for them but I’ve
also voted for them – party and electorate. I have also voted for other parties
and candidates from other parties. I’m not a member of the Labour Party and I
don’t feel I have to always vote for them. BUT, and this is a big but (not
butt), I am generally a pragmatic person. After I left Labour, I worked in the
public service of NZ under a National government – it wasn’t the end of the
world for me. If I were to talk one of those compass tests, I would bet that it
would tell me to vote Greens or Maori Party. Because I put a lot of emphasis on
environmental and indigenous issues. I also care a lot about civil rights and
social justice so Labour would be up there too. But truthfully as much as I
love Greens policy, I don’t see them mastering enough support of the nation to
be running this country so when I do/did vote for them it is usually tactical. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The way that Labour MPs behaved last week was absolutely despicable.
They essentially told all Labour voters that they were lying this whole time.
That they didn’t support their leader and that they didn’t support the policies
they campaigned on. That the entire campaign was a self-interested endeavor to
get Ministerial positions. It was wholly unprofessional. (This obviously doesn’t
apply to the MPs who managed to keep their mouth shut.) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fact that: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<ol>
<li>They obviously knew that Labour would lose the election and did not
have a post-election messaging strategy is a failure of the leadership.</li>
<li>David Cunliffe didn’t manage to unite the caucus and garner their
support is also a failure of his leadership.</li>
<li>Labour and Greens weren’t presented as an alternative government is a
failure of both parties. (Note: I said parties not leadership)</li>
<li>Labour isn’t united internally is not going to change just by changing
leadership.</li>
<li>The failure is being attributed to identity politics or far left policy
is insulting to those who have supported Labour for addressing those very
issues.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
As it stands, I have no one to vote for in 2017. Greens
election results is troubling to me. It is also interesting to me that their ‘failures’
haven’t been translated to a leadership failure whereas Labour’s ‘failure’ has.
The Labour caucus is deeply divided and the actions of some of the MPs on
Sunday morning also left me troubled. That they couldn’t stand behind their
leader after his pretty impressive debate showing and a campaign that was
extremely volatile was disappointing to me. Labour MPs should take
responsibility for their policy position collectively. It isn’t like David
Cunliffe held a gun to their head. I know for a fact that this so called “lurch
to the left” is not just a DC position.
I say “so-called” because it really isn’t a lurch to the left. Labour’s
policy positions are a reflection of where the government has been – ie largely
a response to this Government’s policies. National have cherry picked when they
go left and when they go right and on issues they have gone slightly to the
left has inevitably forced Labour to mimic that movement.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am not going to presume to know the answer. I don’t know
the answer. Those who presume to know the answer are kidding themselves. But
any answer, I believe, should be based on reflection and evidence. Show me the
data and not just your frustrated outbursts. The next three years will be interesting. Some believe we
have already handed National their fourth term. Those people ought to be proven
wrong. I myself am going to think some more. There will be posts here and elsewhere
but for the sake of my degree I will be off Twitter for a tiny little bit. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My
final thought is that the Labour Caucus should consider having open dialogue
with each other and coming to some kind of understanding of support and
compassion for each other’s position. There are a lot of personalities and points of views, which is good. But their anger and denigration of each other
not only hurts the party but is costing the country. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-52976340644583749092014-09-10T08:16:00.000-07:002014-09-10T11:41:17.668-07:00A sexy three-step guide to voting<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sDj-gEQDhfU/VBBp2e68cjI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/SzDSEPFsj5M/s1600/groovin.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sDj-gEQDhfU/VBBp2e68cjI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/SzDSEPFsj5M/s1600/groovin.gif" height="180" width="320" /></a><b>1. Ignore policy: </b>Yes, everyone wants to assert their superiority complex by talking about policy and
the economy but really what’s the point? You know what Labour stands for
broadly and you know what National stands for broadly. That hasn’t changed and
it aint gonna change anytime soon. If a party all of a sudden has a big idea,
then maybe we could focus on that. Asset sales – that was National’s big idea.
Except they did it in the 90s, so whatever. Capital Gains Tax – that’s Labour’s
big idea – pretty much a no-brainer given our housing market. National would
implement it if it hadn’t backed itself into a stupid corner by virtue of John
Key. Whether you are a single issue voter or a multi policy stud, I say you go
with your gut but don’t vote on an empty stomach. Hangry voting is like hangry
grocery shopping. But let’s be honest here, you are not going to look at party
manifestos, you aren’t going to go watch interviews and Parlmentary speeches,
you aren’t going to make a pro-con list. You are going to go with what you have
heard and seen while browsing Stuff.co.nz at work. And that is ok. It’s ok to
vote National because you think John Key is a swell guy. It’s ok to vote Labour because David Cunliffe’s Harvard education appeals to your sapiosexuality (might
be a real word). It’s ok to vote Greens because you think Metiria is really
cool. It’s ok to vote Internet-Mana because they are a flash new toy and you
are curious. It’s ok to vote ACT because you pride yourself on being a
heartless libertarian. It’s ok to vote CrayCons (Colin Craig's Conservative Party) because you like hitting
children. Wait… that’s not ok. Nope. Not ok at all. I don’t know why anyone
would vote for them. Seriously. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vhghUiNDfTQ/VBBpoeZ4p1I/AAAAAAAAAWA/gwqr4bLZmFM/s1600/eUuofeA.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vhghUiNDfTQ/VBBpoeZ4p1I/AAAAAAAAAWA/gwqr4bLZmFM/s1600/eUuofeA.gif" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2. Strategery: </b>That’s
not a real word. That’s a G W Bush word. But I like that word a lot. Anyway, moving on. We live in a MMP world. We have to
break ourselves free from the prudish FPP outlook on our electoral life and
embrace the free-spirit world of MMP. You no longer have to subscribe to the
monoga-vote (also not a real word) but you have the freedom to biga-vote (not a
real word, but should be). Two votes! At the same time! Sexy! Think about what you are trying to get out of your
vote. In some electorates, it will be a straightforward two ticks. But in some places, you could get adventurous. Consider it. Think about the boring voters in Cluth-Southland and their lack of choices. Election after election, it's the same two ticks. Boooooring. <o:p></o:p>If you are on the social conservative or ‘libertarian’ side you have to think about whether or not you should give your party vote to the CrayCons (Colin Craig’s Conservative Party) or ACT. Will Epsom get David Seymour in? Will the CrayCons get to the 5% threshold? It’s anyone’s guess really. Trust the polls? It almost feels like Game Theory here. What will the other prisoners do? If you are on the left, <a href="http://cornerpolitics.blogspot.com/2014/08/epsom-not-dirty-deal-tactical.html">you may have to consider voting for a National candidate in a place like Epsom</a>. Scary. But strategery. What is the end game here for you?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_YsYoS2k89Q/VBBptxEzU3I/AAAAAAAAAWI/9KmHHuDTNMk/s1600/tumblr_lqoof9RrcU1qhhd7c.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_YsYoS2k89Q/VBBptxEzU3I/AAAAAAAAAWI/9KmHHuDTNMk/s1600/tumblr_lqoof9RrcU1qhhd7c.gif" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>3. Have fun: </b>Whether
you go to the polls on election day or you choose advance voting – have fun.
Take your kids. Take your friends. Get a coffee. You are exercising your
democratic right that many people in this world still don’t have. There are
people who literally risk being beat up as they go to the polls. Even if you subscribe to that school of
thought that says “your vote doesn’t count” – who cares? It might count, it
might not but you have a teeny tiny role to play in choosing who governs this
country. Make it fun. You don’t have to vote National or Labour – there are all
these other parties unlike the United States where people have to choose
between 'really horrible' and 'kind of bad' candidates. The government makes
laws that govern every aspect of your life. You might as well try to put in
some constraints. Tick those circles! We may end up with 9 political parties in the 51st Parliament - SUCH FUN! </div>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-68973231874790947782014-08-13T09:25:00.000-07:002014-08-13T10:14:06.800-07:00Something is rotten in the state of New Zealand<div class="MsoNormal">
So while I was sleeping Nicky Hager’s book was launched in
Wellington today. While you were sleeping I had to write down my thoughts. I did not expect it to be a sequel to the Hollow Men but so
it was. I guess the proverbial “Fool me once…” is in order. I won’t get to read
this book for a long time and I expect most of the book will be traversed in
detail in the next few weeks by those who do. Once thing that was very evident
to me from the <a href="http://dirtypoliticsnz.com/">preface</a> and the information that is out there is that now we know why
Judith Collins was never sacked. If "the
machine" was engaging in this level of unethical behavior just to win elections
can you imagine the kind of dirt they have on each other? It is well known that
WO and Judith Collins are close, I hate to think what they have over John Key
that makes him so powerless when it comes to her. Some of the excerpts are truly
frightening to me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #292f33; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 19.5pt; line-height: 115%;">"the prime minister’s
office used its knowledge of secret SIS documents to tip off Slater" from
website. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was working for the Labour Leader’s Office during and
leading up to the 2011 election. This is extraordinary! Surely this needs independent
investigation because it is a major breach. I'm not even sure that we will ever know the extent of the abuse. It is well known that political operatives in the Beehive go out of their way to make sure their actions are not OIA-able. But I don’t see how the investigation could
happen while John Key is still PM. I would not have confidence in any such
investigation! This alone means that he can no longer stay. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #292f33; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 19.5pt; line-height: 115%;">“They include persistent
attacks on Labour Party politicians, attacks that consciously set out to
distract, wear down or demoralise them rather than trying to debate issues or
win a political argument</span>…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well that tactic certainly worked during the 2011 election.
I remember that very well because I worked through those days for Labour. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #292f33; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 19.5pt; line-height: 115%;">"how our defences as
a society (news media, electoral laws and so on) are inadequate to protect the
public." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This right here terrifies me the most. We misplaced our
faith in the idea that New Zealand is the least corrupted country. We were fooled by the beauty and the simplicity of our small nation in the thinking
that nothing bad ever happens here. Time and time again we are proven wrong but
our faith in our own goodness means that people who do want to take advantage
can and do take that advantage. Some practical solutions: OIA needs urgent reform, political donations need to be far more transparent, our law enforcement agencies needs to reigned in, and we need to restore civil service neutrality. Everything to me right now reeks of undue influence and abuse of power. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve been referred to as a hack (because I worked for
Labour). It is well established that I sit on the left of the political spectrum.
Despite never been a member of any political party and despite having multiple
combinations of the two ticks in the last three elections I will always be seen
as Labour. An yet this book gives me no joy. No solace. I feel no glee. Hager says:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-line-height-alt: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #292f33; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 19.5pt;">"This is a technique originally from US republican
politics...."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-line-height-alt: 16.5pt;">
<br />
How can anything borrowed from US Republicans be good for
New Zealand? Have we as a nation not been watching the destruction of political
goodwill in America precisely because of these kind of tactics? The apathy, the
anger, the misinformed choices? Do we want that as a country? It is clear to me that our politicians don’t really care
about good governance. They are motivated by power and wielding that power for
personal gain. Finally this –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;">
<span style="color: #292f33; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #292f33; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 19.5pt;">“Journalists have suspected these activities
but the evidence has been hard to find.”</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well I guess it didn’t come up when John Roughan was writing
that biography. It didn’t come up when they were <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11277098">actively spreading rumours</a>
about Labour Party donations. It didn’t come up when they had to<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9723130/Looks-like-Slater-is-Keys-Peters-source"> actively denyusing Government agencies</a> to find out how they knew how many times Winston
visited Kim Dotcom. I guess none of that really required thorough investigation
because if you were a journalist – would you really think a political party
would go this far? In this day and age? This many years after Watergate? Spying
on the opposition? Why would you risk your professional reputation wondering if
such a scale of underhanded activities was occurring?<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If there is anything I take away from this – it is “constant
vigilance”. More to come I'm sure... </div>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-25457576976681922072014-08-10T14:47:00.001-07:002014-08-11T17:54:30.549-07:00Epsom - Not a dirty deal - a tactical opportunity for the left.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
“Dirty deal!” exclaims Patrick Gower or as he is known in the political
circles “Paddy”. Paddy doesn’t like the Epsom deal or the Ohariu deal. He calls
them dirty and assumes we all hold them to the same contempt as he does. We don’t.
“Coat-tailing” or an attempt to work the electoral system to leverage otherwise
wasted votes is not dirty. In fact it is quite legal. As legal as the Cabinet
Club. What is dirty is not the deal nor the club, it is the lack of transparency
associated with both. In an ideal world the corporate money in politics would be restricted and we
would all vote on policy (and there would be unicorns delivering ice cream
every Monday). That is not how the real
world works. I don’t have a problem with electoral deals because I think votes
get wasted even more without them because of the threshold. But, even if the threshold were lowered, there would be some votes that would be wasted, although not nearly
as much as they were under FPP. The only time it makes sense to waste the electoral
vote are under these circumstances:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">There is a clear winner and that clear winner
(National or Labour candidate) will most definitely win so you vote for someone
you like.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">There is a clear winner and you really really
despise them so you make a statement and vote for anyone but them.</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Other than those circumstances, I don’t see why anyone would waste
their vote by voting for someone who clearly is not going to win. Electorate
votes do not determine the number of MPs in Parliament so unless one has a huge
vested interest in their local MP representation, why would anyone care about
the electorate MP? In my experience
those who do, still do not understand MMP properly. (That's a whole different post)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
So let’s take a look at what’s happening in Epsom. If
you are on the ‘broad New Zealand right’, you might vote for David Seymour because
John Key said so. You might be a National supporter and if National needs David
Seymour, you give them David Seymour. Or
you think National is too left wing and you like ACT policies, so you will vote
for him and hope other likeminded people elsewhere in the country will give
their Party vote to ACT so maybe another ACT MP will get in to wield some real
legislative influence. Although, even lone John Banks has managed to change the
landscape of our education policy so maybe even one is enough. Maybe next term
David Seymour focuses on the flat tax? Or maybe Maori seats gets abolished. If you are on the right and you vote for David Seymour, you have absolutely no reason to feel dirty. You are helping the party you like implement the policies you want to see. Paddy does not get to vote-shame you. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
But what happens if you are on the ‘broad New Zealand
left’. Who do you vote for? Unless one of the above two applies to you, tactically it makes sense for you to vote for National candidate Paul Goldsmith. Your party vote goes to the party you want to see in government or at least a "left government". You don’t like National’s policies but ACT policies are even worse
and you know that National presents itself as the sane alternative by positioning
ACT as “extreme”. In the end ACT is out, National would be in anyway and everyone is happy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
So what’s the problem? Here’s the problem with the current situation: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">John
Key never actually says “Vote for David Seymour”. In fact apparently he will be
voting for Paul Goldsmith. One the other hand Paul Goldsmith is in the awkward position to tell people to vote for David Seymour for no explicit reason. </span><span style="text-indent: -24px;">What? Why?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Labour
and Greens never say “give your electoral vote to Paul Goldsmith if you want to
keep ACT out”. What? Why?</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
We are not stupid. We are the ones that vote. We
should get to vote for whoever we bloody well please for whatever bloody
reason. Political parties aren’t pulling the wool over our eyes unless they are
doing the two things that I just mentioned. That is the problem. Lay out
reasons. Make a case. We’ll do the voting thank you. And Paddy – seriously if
this is the biggest political grind you have, you’re doing the profession of
journalism a huge disservice. Your focus should be on transparency and access
to information. Denial of that right is what’s contrary to democratic
principle. Electorate deals actually help some votes be better counted (or
counted at all).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Epsom is a hot mess but there is one truth - if ACT comes back into Parliament because of Epsom, the blame lies squarely on Labour and Greens voters in that electorate.<br>
<br>
On 2011 numbers, if the Labour and Greens voters had given their electorate votes to the National candidate (and a lot of people did) instead of their own candidates than we wouldn't have to deal with ACT right now. </div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
On these 2011 numbers, I'm blaming Lab/Greens voters if ACT are back in Parliament.
BANKS 15,835
GOLDSMITH 13,574
HAY 2,160
PARKER 3,751<br>
— Lamia (@LI_politico) <a href="https://twitter.com/LI_politico/statuses/498219116344639488">August 9, 2014</a></blockquote>
As pointed out by this extremely succinct and perfect tweet - the left needs to see it as a vote against National and ACT rather than a vote for Goldsmith. Unless those two points I mentioned in the very beginning applies to you, there is absolutely zero reason you should be voting for the Labour or Greens candidate.<br>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
<a href="https://twitter.com/CateOwen">@CateOwen</a> ...esp if you think of it not as voting *for* Goldsmith but *against* ACT, ACT-Nat machinations, and a 3rd Key term. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/trickyfecta?src=hash">#trickyfecta</a><br>
— Jolisa Gracewood (@nzdodo) <a href="https://twitter.com/nzdodo/statuses/498574540549541888">August 10, 2014</a></blockquote>
There is no reason for ACT to be in the 51st Parliament and if they are, John Key is the last person who should be blamed. In fact what John Key is doing is giving the left one last opportunity to kill off ACT. That is the *hint hint* *nudge nudge* message the left should be getting should there be another cup of tea.<br>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-30802387906011039932014-07-31T10:47:00.001-07:002014-07-31T10:47:30.695-07:00Top 10 #nzpol tweets this week - July 31, 2014This week was the last sitting week of Parliament before the election. 50th Parliament is now officially done. Jamie Whyte, leader of ACT made some pretty outrageous comments. If you were as horrified as I was go <a href="http://ellipsister.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/whyte-crimes-against-logic/">read this</a> by Carrie Stoddart-Smith (<a href="https://twitter.com/Ellipsister">@ellipsister</a>). Also I myself went through his stupid little book and got out some choice quotes which you can read on twitter under the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23JamieWhyteThoughts&src=typd">#JamieWhyteThoughts</a>. Moving on. Top tweets this week: <br />
<br />
Election is coming up close. It's already August in New Zealand today! I feel this way too :(<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Was really looking forward to the Election Year. Now disillusioned.<br />
— Andrew Robertson (@Unimatrix_0) <a href="https://twitter.com/Unimatrix_0/statuses/494751260482891776">July 31, 2014</a></blockquote>
<br />
Outrageous! <br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
"Stop measuring stuff." Mike Sabin's witty interjection to <a href="https://twitter.com/metiria">@metiria</a>'s questions about growing extreme child poverty <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzqt?src=hash">#nzqt</a><br />
— Holly Walker (@hollyrwalker) <a href="https://twitter.com/hollyrwalker/statuses/494671970823176193">July 31, 2014</a></blockquote>
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No but seriously though... has National announced any policy at all? <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Labour announces employment policy, is overshadowed on Twitter by Nats wearing silly ties. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzpol?src=hash">#nzpol</a><br />
— Mathew Grocott (@mathewgrocott) <a href="https://twitter.com/mathewgrocott/statuses/494329543423844352">July 30, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Ha!<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Jamie Whyte. Dislikes: corporate welfare. Likes: a free ride into Parliament from the National Party.<br />
— Philip Matthews (@secondzeit) <a href="https://twitter.com/secondzeit/statuses/494234034323456001">July 29, 2014</a></blockquote>
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THIS. But then again, what promises has he kept? <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Anyone remember John Key’s promise to close the wage gap with Australia ? Well, the gap has risen by $70 to over $190 a week <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzpol?src=hash">#nzpol</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzvotes?src=hash">#nzvotes</a><br />
— Robert Johnson (@deltablues_king) <a href="https://twitter.com/deltablues_king/statuses/494711291185868803">July 31, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Hmmm... interesting thought..not sure where I stand on that. But superannuation policy is an area ripe for public debate! <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
Why do we still have a “married rate” of superannuation? Pple should be treated as individuals. Why penalise love? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/basicincome?src=hash">#basicincome</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NZQT?src=hash">#NZQT</a><br />
— Deirdre Kent (@deirdrekent) <a href="https://twitter.com/deirdrekent/statuses/494668958486634498">July 31, 2014</a></blockquote>
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There's been some talk of "electoral deals" because of Colin Craig but not nearly as there was last time with the Epsom Cup of Tea incident. I think there should be a concerted campaign by the left to elect Paul Goldsmith for no other reason than - it would be funny. Also it would give ACT to get itself together and see if they can be a proper libertarian party in the future sometime. <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
For every Epsom voter you persuade to vote for Goldsmith I will give you 1 free back rub *conditions apply. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hipstersforgoldsmith?src=hash">#hipstersforgoldsmith</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzpol?src=hash">#nzpol</a><br />
— Philip Nannestad (@philipsophy) <a href="https://twitter.com/philipsophy/statuses/494664311239753728">July 31, 2014</a></blockquote>
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I think this has been the new normal pretty much since before the 2011 election. Remember that Labour did not make it to 30% in 2011 under Phil Goff. I wasn't really that vested in the Labour leadership contest (I definitely did not want Shane Jones though) but I was hoping that DC or Grant Robertson would do a better job this year. Maybe Labour supporters think that this is a trend towards a more favourable poll showing. I don't know. There are a lot more parties on the left and so I don't see Labour really going back to 2002 and 2005 numbers in the near future. Nor do I see them being able to run a stable government on current numbers. Something has got to give!<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
That Labour supporters are excited about a poll that has Labour still in opposition shows what the new normal is under Cunliffe. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzpol?src=hash">#nzpol</a><br />
— Patrick Leyland (@ProgressReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProgressReport/statuses/494688054318497792">July 31, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Yes well... <br />
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Rich white man calls for Race Relations Commissioner to resign. Quelle surprise. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/equality?src=hash">#equality</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/racism?src=hash">#racism</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JamieWhyteACT">@JamieWhyteACT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzpol?src=hash">#nzpol</a><br />
— juliegunn (@radioARW) <a href="https://twitter.com/radioARW/statuses/494661584619180032">July 31, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Look at this tweet. Look at it! "Removing racial discrimination" against who? White people? When people don't educate themselves on history and how policies are developed and why they are developed we get ignorant comments like this. This kind of attitude is what's worrying. <br />
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Amazing that someone proposing to remove racial discrimination in law is attacked as "divisive". Whaaa? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzpol?src=hash">#nzpol</a><br />
— Mister Spinner (@kiwibrotha) <a href="https://twitter.com/kiwibrotha/statuses/494621811028418562">July 30, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-43015700025764049562014-07-31T09:50:00.001-07:002014-07-31T09:50:24.279-07:00Top 10 #nzpol tweets - July 25, 2014Last week was a pretty active week in #nzpol. Te Wiki O Te Reo Maori kicked off, Green's launched their "Love NZ" campaign, Gerry Brownlee offered his resignation, Labour picked a fight with TVNZ, John Key photo shopped himself with the All Blacks and yet another National MP chose not to stand in this year's election. (Internationally the tragic events continued so once again I chose to stay away from highlighting #nzpol tweets. The lifeless faces of children in Gaza was just too traumatizing). But here are my picks from last week:<br />
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This tweet highlights how GST disproportionately affects those on low income. If you make 6 figures, these make up a small percentage of your income. Not if you make minimum wage though. When ACT goes on and one about flat tax what I hear is that they do not get arithmetic. It makes them sound fiscally and socially irresponsible.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
really it would be cool if there was no GST on tampons, pads, nappies, infant formula and toilet paper but that's just me i guess.<br />
— Aunty Shub (@_surlymermaid_) <a href="https://twitter.com/_surlymermaid_/statuses/491360533720100864">July 21, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Ha! <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
"This government does not deal in gossip. This government deals in facts." - Anne Tolley today.
John Key, June 2014: <a href="http://t.co/pH0LKJ0iex">pic.twitter.com/pH0LKJ0iex</a><br />
— Toby Manhire (@toby_etc) <a href="https://twitter.com/toby_etc/statuses/491422676112531456">July 22, 2014</a></blockquote>
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To be honest, initially I was going to devote this weeks tweets to all of the Te Reo ones, however, there were hardly any that specifically talked about politics. Next year I'd like to see politicians talking about politics and policy in Te Reo on social media. I think it would be cool and interesting. <br />
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I call <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MaoriLanguageWeek?src=hash">#MaoriLanguageWeek</a> "normal language week" and every other week "English language week"... it's very confusing but totally worth it.<br />
— Guy Williams (@guywilliamsguy) <a href="https://twitter.com/guywilliamsguy/statuses/491676124313686016">July 22, 2014</a></blockquote>
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I love this tweet simply because I love Kim Hill. I'd love to see her interview John Key. That incredulous tone she takes when people say ridiculous things is my favorite! <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Why don't we dispense with the charade (and the lightweights) and have Kim Hill and Mary Wilson grill DC and Key instead...<br />
— Morgan Godfery (@MorganGodfery) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorganGodfery/statuses/492053365975552000">July 23, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Ha ha! To true! <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzpol?src=hash">#nzpol</a> swordplay
falling on sword
symbolic lean against sword
posing with sword
sorry i have a sword
there is no sword
i don't recall sword<br />
— patagonian toothfush (@ptoothfish) <a href="https://twitter.com/ptoothfish/statuses/492141663251206146">July 24, 2014</a></blockquote>
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I found that photoshopping into All Blacks kind of tacking. Maybe it would be more acceptable if it had been an actual photo he actually took with the team. I don't know. Also Captain Key? What was that? The whole thing was weird and the magazines explanation was also weird. But this right here is funny! <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hamish_keith">@hamish_keith</a> <a href="http://t.co/QzmVPaRzgo">pic.twitter.com/QzmVPaRzgo</a><br />
— Arch Rival (@ArchieDaRival) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArchieDaRival/statuses/492246805669609472">July 24, 2014</a></blockquote>
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I don't know if I want to see that. <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
please put John Key on the field in the next All Black's match, coach. Id really like to see that.<br />
— nømmøp¡|ø+ (@nommopilot) <a href="https://twitter.com/nommopilot/statuses/491816931196805121">July 23, 2014</a></blockquote>
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I agree with No Right Turn here. I don't like the phrase as much as I like the photos. Granted they are "negative" compared to previous Greens campaigns. But actually "Not our future" is kinda cool though it would be feeding into National's "Brighter Future" narrative, which seems to be gone. How come? Answers we will never know... <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
I'm not sure the dissonance in <a href="https://twitter.com/NZGreens">@NZGreens</a> campaign works. Wouldn't "Not our future" be a better match for those images?<br />
— Idiot/Savant (@norightturnnz) <a href="https://twitter.com/norightturnnz/statuses/492498669799620608">July 25, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Ha ha ha ha ha... oh dear. <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Wait, since when does the All Blacks captain have democratic authority to turn down ministerial resignations?<br />
— Colvin (@Covlin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Covlin/statuses/492135699986911233">July 24, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Yeah his pronunciation leaves much to be desired. He needs lessons with Lockwood Smiths but good for him to show leadership. There needs to be more Te Reo in the political sphere. <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Props for doin a karakia instead of the usual prayer David Carter, but you probably should've given that a bit more practice <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzqt?src=hash">#nzqt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzpol?src=hash">#nzpol</a><br />
— LukeTipoki (@LukeTipoki) <a href="https://twitter.com/LukeTipoki/statuses/491765524422852608">July 23, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-64093846836832489702014-07-31T09:28:00.000-07:002014-07-31T09:51:43.457-07:00Top 10 #nzpol tweets - July 18, 2014The events in the last 3 weeks have left me pretty distraught and sad about the state of the world. I figured the silliness that can sometimes be New Zealand Pols can maybe take a break. But that doesn't mean I haven't been watching and collecting. Here are the tweets from about 3 weeks ago that I thought were great. News has changed a lot in those weeks, so maybe treat these as a look back. These are posted without comment. <br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
When you think about it “Working for NZ” kinda like a bored FB status update. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamKey?src=hash">#TeamKey</a> Alternative suggestion: “Just doing our job”<br />
— Callum Valentine (@callumvalentine) <a href="https://twitter.com/callumvalentine/statuses/488070578452955136">July 12, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Collins is upset a politician did something political. The rest of us are upset the minister isn't doing the ministerial job she's paid for.<br />
— Oliver (@eey0re) <a href="https://twitter.com/eey0re/statuses/488428385102598144">July 13, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
It's been said before but it really is worth noting how huge the Maori electorates are. A lot of ground to cover. <a href="http://t.co/LC1rDwQ2KN">pic.twitter.com/LC1rDwQ2KN</a><br />
— Michael Fox (@michaelfoxnz) <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelfoxnz/statuses/488442088917200896">July 13, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
The new concept of Ministerial Responsibility is simple - "I didn't do it I didn't know it was done and if I did it wasn't done by me"<br />
— Hamish Keith (@hamish_keith) <a href="https://twitter.com/hamish_keith/statuses/488483170614931457">July 14, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
This is what the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/teamkey?src=hash">#teamkey</a> ‘rockstar economy’ looks like on the streets of Henderson currently <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/timeforchange?src=hash">#timeforchange</a> <a href="http://t.co/8tsgiDQI5L">pic.twitter.com/8tsgiDQI5L</a><br />
— Chris Yong (@chrisyong) <a href="https://twitter.com/chrisyong/statuses/488890936202498048">July 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Wow. Really wow. Guy who got new <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GCSB?src=hash">#GCSB</a> law passed now wants to remove two thirds of its functions <a href="http://t.co/VJ4zKUz1Vy">http://t.co/VJ4zKUz1Vy</a><br />
— Vikram Kumar (@vikram_nz) <a href="https://twitter.com/vikram_nz/statuses/489167647763087360">July 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
<a href="https://twitter.com/dpfdpf">@dpfdpf</a> The idea that looking after our environment is a partisan issue is pretty indicative of the problems we’re trying to solve.<br />
— Internet Party (@InternetPartyNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/InternetPartyNZ/statuses/489231865140617216">July 16, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
In unsurprising lack of self-awareness, MP gloats about the low polling of parties who are polling 30-50 times what his own party is polling<br />
— Lew (@LewSOS) <a href="https://twitter.com/LewSOS/statuses/489512860423159810">July 16, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Alongside literally trampling all over tikanga, the police continue to treat the Bill of Rights Act as mere suggestions. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MaraeInvasion?src=hash">#MaraeInvasion</a><br />
— Joshua Hitchcock (@jcphitchcock) <a href="https://twitter.com/jcphitchcock/statuses/489525471336357888">July 16, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Road to nowhere? Path of darkness? <a href="http://t.co/npCtCEjgWp">pic.twitter.com/npCtCEjgWp</a><br />
— Matt (@mfairh) <a href="https://twitter.com/mfairh/statuses/490237233664761856">July 18, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-13877772547391268482014-07-18T12:25:00.000-07:002014-07-18T20:07:24.537-07:00Before you comment on the Israel-Palestine issue...<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x8i5ueRShh4/U8mJVLQ08nI/AAAAAAAAAVk/HQVyZoKERFE/s1600/thediplomat_2014-07-17_15-21-41.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x8i5ueRShh4/U8mJVLQ08nI/AAAAAAAAAVk/HQVyZoKERFE/s1600/thediplomat_2014-07-17_15-21-41.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. <b>Know the difference between a state and an ethnic group of people</b>. Israel is a state, the Jewish people are an ethnic group that exists outside of Israel all over the world and Israelis can be Arabs or Jews that belong to the nation-state of Israel (or Palestine) who may or may not have a defined state. Israel is taking action on behalf of a large number of Jewish people. However, many Israelis do not support this action. Many Jews around the world also do not support this action. Your opposition should be directed at the state and its political leadership not the Jewish people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> 2. Once again, to reiterate, <b>the state of Israel is responsible</b> for the offensive in Gaza and atrocities against Palestinians. The state of Israel does not equal all Jews. If you see Jewish people making terrible comments or writing/sharing hateful comments on social media, it does not mean they represent all Jews. It doesn’t even mean they represent all Israeli Jews. Some Jewish people out there are responsible for saying offensive/racist things just like every other group of people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. If you have a problem with what the state of Israel is doing, great. Let’s talk about how the state of Israel is breaking International Law. How it is exacerbating a volatile situation. <b>Do not go around talking about how Jewish people are scum or deserve to die.</b> There are many oppressive governments all around the world that have done/are doing exactly the same thing as Israelis. The current Bangladeshi government is arguably corrupt and has engaged in extrajudicial killings of Bangladeshi citizens, so do many Arab countries, and many countries in Africa. Governments do illegal and inhumane things in the name of and on behalf of their citizens. Most of the time citizens have no control over those actions even if they have voted for that government. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> 4. <b>If you have to invoke Hitler</b>, you are uninformed. You are losing your argument and most importantly you are no different than what Israel is doing right now. What happened during the Holocaust was a stain on humanity. It is something all of us as humans should be collectively ashamed of. How can a state kill 6 million people based on their race and the world just stand by and let it happen? It was unacceptable and it will always be unacceptable (I cannot believe I have to actually write this out). Under no circumstances will Hitler’s actions EVER be justified. And neither are Israel’s actions now. They are two separate incidents occurring at two different times. Don’t conflate the two just because one situation contributed to the current situation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> 5. <b>Palestine was a British Colony</b> and Jews emigrated there to flee persecution in Europe (which as you all know included the Holocaust). Palestine did not have a choice or say in the matter when the UK devised this plan to relocate a group of people who were clearly in need of assistance at the time. Since that relocation, indigenous Palestinians have been forced to leave their homeland or become refugees in their own land and face continuous institutional discrimination from the newly created Jewish state of Israel. Israel has locked them in small pockets, illegally occupied their land, extended Jewish settlements in places that legitimately belong to Palestinians and used the might of their military to oppress the very people who opened up their country to them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> 6. <b>How did Israel do this?</b> They have the support of most of the international community including the very powerful UK and US. They receive economic and military aid including weapons and technology. They are guaranteed the US veto in the Security Council whenever the international community attempts to hold them to account for their illegal actions. Their oppressive and illegal actions have led Palestinians to fight back and that action has been branded “terrorism” (which in some cases it is). However, Palestinian terrorism is not the same at terrorism in other parts of the Middle East and Asia. This is not related to religion. This is in response to occupation, oppression, and appropriation of land (all of this is a breach of international law which goes unpunished). And militant groups in Palestine is not limited to Hamas. Every group has their own agenda and like the Israeli government, most Palestinian citizens do not get to dictate how these militant groups behave. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7. This is a very cursory overview of the conflict but the point of this is to say –<b> stop directing your hate towards an ethnic group.</b> Atrocities are committed on orders from the top. In this case it is the Israeli leadership with support from the international community (this includes US, UK, Arab countries and other Europeans countries). This is not the first time an ethnic minority has been oppressed and murdered for their resources. This is our collective human history. Your protests should be directed towards Israel. Speak up. Write. Share your protest photos online. Demand action from your own government. Educate yourself on the history. Educate those who are spreading hate on the internet via social media. Verify facts.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span>Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652372332761185426.post-16046972626297718102014-07-10T12:37:00.000-07:002014-07-10T17:15:10.315-07:00The top 10 #nzpol tweets of this week - July 10, 2014<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another week passes us by as September 20 seems to be edging closer and closer. John Armstrong makes yet another prediction for Labour's annihilation at the polls and John Key actually invokes #notallmen. Perhaps the biggest news story of this week broke last week when David Cunliffe "apologised" for being a man. So we had our NZ version of #yesallwomen as many women on Twitter (and a whole bunch of men as well) attempted to explain why Cunliffe's apology is important.<a href="http://cornerpolitics.blogspot.com/2014/07/apology-is-least-you-can-do.html"> I myself wrote</a> about why this was the least a man could do. In any case, House wasn't sitting and not a lot of policy was discussed. Labour launched it's education policy over the weekend during Congress as well as a hashtag or two. There's been a lot of hashtag discussions on Twitter and I think the "Twitterati" are in agreement that you cannot dictate hashtags from the top. (More on that below) Let's get onto the top tweets this week! </span><br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">
Today in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzpol?src=hash">#nzpol</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/johnkeypm">@johnkeypm</a> on NOT ALL MEN, tomorrow "But reverse racism is a thing!", Monday "I saw "die cis scum once, I AM OPPRESSED".<br />
— Roz S-P (@IrnBruja) <a href="https://twitter.com/IrnBruja/statuses/484965712360787970">July 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've been wondering this since I was like 14 and someone explained libertarianism to me. I don't get why you would believe we shouldn't have government still want to be in government. </span><br />
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People who don't believe in government - stay out of it then <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzvotes?src=hash">#nzvotes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nzpol?src=hash">#nzpol</a><br />
— Sacha Dylan (@kaupapa) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaupapa/statuses/486389301869948928">July 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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The Sensible Sentencing Trust are the climate change deniers of the justice sector, and do similar amounts of harm.<br />
— Di W (@di_f_w) <a href="https://twitter.com/di_f_w/statuses/485972511977246720">July 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I still can't get over the nonchalant way this whole thing has been handled! </span><br />
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How much more evidence do we need for racism in NZ than an MPs office being shot-up and law enforcement doesn't care? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NativeAffairs?src=hash">#NativeAffairs</a><br />
— Rev. Chris Huriwai (@RevChrisHuriwai) <a href="https://twitter.com/RevChrisHuriwai/statuses/486075746276745216">July 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wow.. this pic. Not a good call. </span><br />
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Good work <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamKey?src=hash">#TeamKey</a>, thoughtful placement as illustration of your government. Very creative. HT <a href="https://twitter.com/nomlah">@nomlah</a> <a href="http://t.co/KL1hKL2D22">pic.twitter.com/KL1hKL2D22</a><br />
— Max Dillon Coyle (@MaxDCoyle) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaxDCoyle/statuses/486099863877070849">July 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ha! Some days I feel this way too. Some days I can't articulate what I want a government to actually do. I rarely hear anything that makes me sit up and go - this is exciting! </span><br />
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I wish the main parties would come up with policies that live up to my non-specific expectations.<br />
— MC Wordcloud (@AceMcWicked) <a href="https://twitter.com/AceMcWicked/statuses/486294716430827520">July 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This really suprised me! Normally major political parties want to stay away from 5 topics. They are abortion, euthanasia, marriage equality, decriminalization of marijuana, and prostitution. To see a Labour candidate do so before even being elected is interesting. I suspect Tamati gets a certain amount of freedom that other candidates do not. </span><br />
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Yo. Let's talk WEED. Thoughts? A crime? Let doctors prescribe? Or free it and open up a market, like WA and CO in US? <a href="http://t.co/lMMPyueZQf">pic.twitter.com/lMMPyueZQf</a><br />
— Tamati Coffey (@tamaticoffey) <a href="https://twitter.com/tamaticoffey/statuses/486352858644631552">July 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ok this. I could do a blog on this but this makes me so angry. If you do not know about Sarah Wilson and her fights with WINZ, you've been living under a rock. The fact that she had horrifying health news from the doctor but going to the WINZ is more scary means our welfare system does not work for the people. People who have to access this system are often the most vulnerable and we treat them like dirt when we should have empathy. Nobody wants to be in this situation willingly. I can't even believe I have to write this out. Sort yourself out NZ - this is completely unacceptable. We are a better nation. Let's not try to be like America. [End rant, not really, I will rant about this again] </span><br />
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Morning all. Thank you for messages overnight. Today I have to go tell WINZ. It's almost more scary than seeing the doctor.<br />
— Sarah Wilson (@writehandedgirl) <a href="https://twitter.com/writehandedgirl/statuses/486621943299207168">July 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ha! I love love love dinosaurs so maybe this will only be funny to me. And gifs on Twitter! Yes! </span><br />
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I felt that gif of Ex-Labour minister Pete Hodgson dancing needed more T-rex cc <a href="https://twitter.com/avancenz">@avancenz</a> <a href="http://t.co/O5yfjeX8qE">http://t.co/O5yfjeX8qE</a><br />
— Luke Appleby (@lukeappleby) <a href="https://twitter.com/lukeappleby/statuses/487051055931215872">July 10, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don't even. No. I have to walk away. This post can only handle one rant. </span><br />
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"the most brutal person I ever met was Helen Clark" - Rodney Hide responds to Chris Trotter's attempt to explain Cunliffe's remarks on men.<br />
— Toby Manhire (@toby_etc) <a href="https://twitter.com/toby_etc/statuses/487058435024764928">July 10, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ok, so I mentioned hashtags above. I really like this hashtag. I will be using it. Dictated hashtags do not work but hilarious, creative hashtags do! </span><br />
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You guys, I just realised Labour's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForABetterNZ?src=hash">#ForABetterNZ</a> hashtag is a big gay acronym: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FABNZ?src=hash">#FABNZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wakeupsheeple?src=hash">#wakeupsheeple</a><br />
— Lew (@LewSOS) <a href="https://twitter.com/LewSOS/statuses/487064517268889601">July 10, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #fefafd; color: #454545; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: xx-small;">10 Rules of Top 10</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">1. Tweets must be funny or thoughtful or informative or display critical analysis </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">2. What is funny or thoughtful or informative or display critical analysis is subjective and determined by me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">3. I may provide commentary on the tweet if it particularly strikes my fancy</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">4. They are not ranked from 1-10</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">5. Disclosure: I *am* particularly looking to highlight gender and racial minority voices</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">6. If you want to point me to the direction of a good tweet, please do it!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">7. Using the #nzpol/#nzqt/#nzvotes is helpful but not required</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">8. I hope to get better about this as the weeks progress</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">9. I am a big fan of correct spelling and grammar (but I know mistakes happen too!)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">10. Let's try to use social media for good and raise the level of debate!</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Lamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02068909934154911485noreply@blogger.com0