Author Archive
Ellen DeGeneres and ‘traditional values’. Nice.
Watch this. It’s brilliant. From Ellen DeGeneres, facing a boycott threat against JC Penney from people offended she’s gay … “I usually don’t talk about stuff like this on my show, but I really want to thank everyone who is supporting me. … Here are the values I stand for: I stand for honesty, equality, […]
Full of sound and fury
Some who fancy themselves as ‘political players’ put me in mind of this from Macbeth: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a […]
Radio station referred to police over pre-election ‘Prime Minister’s hour’
Not a great look for RadioLIVE just as their excellent TV spots boosting their ‘breaking news’ brand get under way. Ouch. Breaching the Broadcasting Act. I preferred the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s description of John Key’s (let’s-face-it:-pretty-entertaining-but-maybe-for-the-wrong-reasons) ‘politics free’ radio show as ‘light flim-flam and frivolity‘. No doubt the legal advice RadioLIVE sought prior to the broadcast […]
NOT taking their own ‘advice’ … for better outcomes
Last year I read an article called How Doctors Die which I highly recommend you also read. In a nutshell, and as a generalization, Ken Murray MD finds that doctors faced with their own terminal disease seek none of the high level medical interventions they might carry out or recommend to their patients, but rather […]
Study: Right-wingers are dumber. Preposterous!
From the RadioLIVE website: A paper, published in Psychological Science, claims that people with ring-wing views tend to be less intelligent than those on the left. It claims that people of lower-intelligence tend towards right-wing views as they make them feel ‘safe’. …. Children on the study were assessed for innate intelligence aged 10 or […]
Of goose and ganders. ACT on Campus referred to police for breaching the law
I was idly checking the 2011 election results on the Electorial Commission’s website tonight, to doublecheck my basis for recently referring to fringe political party ACT as the one-point-one percenters … they got 1.07% of the vote … and look: Referral to the Police 2 February 2012 The Electoral Commission has referred the following matter […]
Background of the Waitangi Tribunal
Establishment of the Tribunal There is a long history in New Zealand of Māori protest over instances where the Treaty of Waitangi was not observed. The Waitangi Tribunal was set up in 1975 at a time when protests about unresolved Treaty grievances were growing and, in some instances, taking place outside the law. By establishing […]
Nelson Mandela on reconciliation
One of my very generous sisters-in-law gave me a volume of Nelson Mandela quotations for Christmas. It’s astonishing how much wisdom about the big issues of life he expressed over the years — and with such eloquence and elegance of thought. Thinking about the decades of protest at Waitangi, and the enormous progress towards reconciliation […]
Is this what we want?
New Zealand’s system of government – an overview (via elections.org.nz) New Zealand is a democratic country in which the members of parliament (MPs) are chosen in free and fair elections. Citizens and permanent residents who are aged 18 years and over are required to enrol to vote. Voting is not compulsory, but turnout is high […]
It takes a crisis … Waitangi and its place in our constitution
Radio NZ News this Waitangi Day morning … The co-chair of a panel reviewing New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements says one of its biggest challenges is making the public aware that a review is taking place. The public will be consulted on a range of questions from the size of Parliament to the role of the […]
The Treaty of Waitangi and its principles
In the late 1830s, there were approximately 125,000 Māori in New Zealand and about 2000 settlers. More immigrants were arriving all the time though, and Captain William Hobson was sent to act for the British Crown in the negotiation of a treaty between the Crown and Māori. The Colonial Secretary, Lord Normanby, instructed Hobson that: […]
Blame the Blackberry
From a very-well-worth-reading Reuters article about the News Corp/News International ‘clean up’ over phone-hacking: James [Murdoch] has consistently said that he did not know all the facts when he approved the [£700k] payment [to a hacking victim, soccer union boss Gordon Taylor] despite the revelation by the MSC in December of an email trail that […]
Hollaback girl Fran O’Sullivan
I generally like business writer Fran O’Sullivan’s work, which can be wide-ranging and interesting and often evinces a robust, seen-it-all-before, how-stupid-do-they-think-we-are? tone. Fran doesn’t often mince words (except for when she does) and she gets points in my book for taking a position, and saying what she thinks — or how the landscape looks from […]
Justifying the dodgy
Mitt Romney seems to be indulging in the “I hit him first but it wuz self defence because I could see he was gunna hit me” justification I expect of a six year old. After reportedly outspending Gingrich five-to-one with ads that were overwhelmingly negative, and explaining his philosophy as “when you’re attacked you’ve got […]
Leonard Cohen’s new album
Yup, I’m a fan (and a fashion victim?) and, of course, immediately bought Leonard Cohen’s new album Old Ideas. I’d been waiting, as noted. It’s good. I notice today it is #1 on iTunes. That’s remarkable, given his longevity and the time in the wilderness and the shallow ‘music to slash your wrists by’ blurb. […]
