The Humanity.
Thoughtless thugs. Killers.
Social issues
culture
A Christmas Rabbit-hole.
Just some light-hearted musings.
Shaking the Tree
When an apple tree is shaken, pips can fall to the ground and germinate. And then things grow back more or less as before.
#IamMetiria
If you know that feeling of dread when you get a WINZ letter, or if you’ve had roiling anxiety from being ‘called in’ for a WINZ interview, or sighed with relief when the letter from WINZ turns out to be a replacement community services card, then follow #IamMetiria. And if you just don’t recognise those, then you might want to follow #IamMetiria to find out why others do…
Sunday Poetry
Slam, Tourettes and Sam, Le Guin as a man.
NZ Human Rights Commission Open Letter to NZ Rugby Union on respecting women
The Human Rights Commission is calling on New Zealanders to sign the open letter to New Zealand Rugby, which asks them to seek support in addressing their internal culture issues.
Women wearing clothes
In France and Italy there have been recent examples of men telling women what they can and cannot wear.
Kiaora Matariki Puaka
It’s been a hard week, and many of us could do with some kindness and good news. Let’s take a moment to remember Matariki. What would Standardistas and other politically progressive people like to see for the coming year?
Indigenous Perspectives
“It is possible to live in a society with a world view that does not include empire”
– Winona LaDuke
We’re going to burn it all, until we burn it down.
What does it really mean to reduce NZ’s total fossil fuel use by 50% by 2030: a warm up discussion for an upcoming thought experiment.
Waitangi Day v Anzac Day
Advantage asks why is Waitangi Day not treated the same as Anzac day?
When survivors speak out
Previously posted at Boots Theory. Content note: discussion of sexual violence and the experience of survivors. Yesterday I did a round-up of the […]
Christianity doesn’t compromise with other religions
Christianity doesn’t compromise with other religions or has the World Finally Gone madder?
Film review: Crossing Rachmaninoff
Something a bit different for The Standard. A review of the film Crossing Rachmaninoff which premiers in Auckland on the 18th of July as part of the International Film Festival.
Fear, Loathing and Denial.
There’s a major and rather obvious contributory factor to UK Labour’s failure in the UK general election that doesn’t seem to have drawn any comment. Until now…
Second “Roast Busters” report released
There are many failings outlined. Police were found to have largely treated women and girls with respect and compassion but their investigations were not robust or thorough, inadequate follow-up enquiries…
Revolutionary Spain, Revolutionary Syria, and the Bastards We Vote For.
It seems that just as the 30’s offered the chance to turn dreams into reality, Syria is offering that chance up to ‘the left’ today. Suddenly, for me, the recent travel bans and the passport confiscation laws etc make sense since we are potentially looking at an international influx of non-nutters and non- psychopaths as happened during the Spanish Revolution of the 30s.
17 year old kiwi sits atop the world
The only person to receive 100% in the world for her work was a young kiwi with only two years background. Read more […]
Guest Post – Waitangi Day, build a bridge and get over it
A Guest Post by David Meech presenting an irreverent view of Waitangi day, and New Zealand history and culture.
A calculated feeding of the beasts within
The social democracy of my youth has radically collapsed into our current culture of individualism, privatisation and personal greed.
Imperator Fish: A clarification
Sexist right-wingers are lining up to abuse Eleanor Catton for speaking her mind. The odious Sean Plunket is the worst, calling Catton a “hua” (sounds like and sometimes defined as “whore”). Imperator Fish responds…
Eleanor Catton on NZ
Award winning author Eleanor Catton has expressed her disappointment and anger with politics in general and the government in particular.
Tania Billingsley’s statement
Tania Billingsley has waived her right to name suppression in the case against the Malaysian diplomat accused of attempted rape – and a Minister of Foreign Affairs who wants the finger pointed at anyone but him.
She’s spoken to 3rd Degree about it, and I think she’s a big damn hero.
Consumerism’s ‘desert of the real’
In The Matrix Neo discovers that his “reality”, is a virtual world that had kept him from seeing “the desert of the real”. George Monbiot cites research that shows how capitalism is eating itself and its consumers. The marketing con of “the good life” – desert of the real.
Don’t Wring Your Hands.
The attitudes put on display by the young men calling themselves the ‘Roast Busters’ aren’t a glitch or the product of some unsavoury sub-culture. Those young men and the attitudes they hold are the product of very long and complex processes whereby some very fucked up shit has become normalised.
Gimme sense!
It’s nothing but ardent colonial nonsense to be celebrating a seasonally determined cultural event in the wrong season and about six months off […]
Politics & Pleasure: TV 2012
We tend to rework reality, included political knowledge and understanding, into a basic (fictionalised) story structure, with villains, heroes, and values absorbed from pleasurable forms of fiction, including TV. This is a look at the political values embedded in some popular TV dramas.
John Key Selling (out) New Zealand
John Key’s selling out of NZ workers’ rights, tourism industry and identity to Hollywood, the TPP and US corporates, has reached a new low. OIA papers reveal the extent to which Warners is dictating the NZ government’s promotion of 100% Middle-earth.
Plain packaging insults my intelligence, and yours too
Plain packaging isn’t just an unproven idea, it’s pointless, illogical in the current circumstances, and seriously condescending.
Hollywood Rules
In another slippery John Key u-turn, after his mission to Hollywood ‘sweeteners’ are now on the table. Key is bending over to let US-based conglomerates extend their dominance in NZ, in support of their own interests and values.
Of Hollywood, Hobbits & NZ-US politics: Episode II
As Key heads off to the US to promote the NZ film industry, I look back at the Hobbit union-busting case and the issues it raised. Will Key’s latest mission to Hollywood, boost the economy, increase jobs and provide benefits to the NZ film industry? Or will it actually undermine the NZ’s economy and democracy, further Americanising NZ’s culture along with it?
Education Standards and National Standards
The guys at RSA Animate provide their illustative talents to a quite brilliant and wide ranging lecture by Sir Ken Robinson on the topic of education. In the space of just over 10 minutes, he ranges from it’s industrial beginnings to its doped out, standardised present and argues finally, that educationally we’re heading in exactly the wrong direction and suggests alternatives.
Whaddarya?
There once was a time tory leaders would wield the power of the state like the powerful tyrants they were.
Nowadays that might is lent to important things like… throwing a wee party.
Those tough old bastards must be rolling in their graves.
Cheeky darkie Holmes at it again
In which racist Paul Holmes parades his prejudices. Again.
A Reassuring Rebuild: The Freiburg Parallel
Christchurch has been called “Victorian planning at its most remarkable”. It needs to be rebuilt in a style that retains or even amplifies as much of its formerly cosy, reassuring character as possible, for the sake of the tourism industry, the locals, and its cultural legacy. Germany’s Freiburg is a useful example of restoring a city to former glory.
Garagin Way tickets
We have four pairs of tickets to give away for the Garagin Way play in Auckland at 181 Hobson St on the nights of Sunday the 5th or Monday the 6th. As the competition we ran was a bit of a fizzer, we’ll just give them to the first four emails we get at thestandardnz (at) gmail dot com – give us your name to pick up the tickets at the door.