Smithiesm

On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism The meaning of the word “racism” is being deliberately blurred, for political reasons. Lets re-state the obvious: when people are chronically experiencing worse social outcomes and lower life expectan...

From Gordon Campbell:
“When people are chronically experiencing worse social outcomes & lower life expectancy due to the colour of their skin, that’s racism. But the targeting of measures to redress those wrongs is not racism – it is justice, long overdue.

www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL24...

Even if you think you're enrolled, please double check.

Here's an idea.

"We can't increase the minimum wage because small businesses can't absorb it. The price of my latte will increase!"

"Small businesses just need to absorb transaction fees charged by the big banks"

Trying to spot the difference here. 🤔

#nzpol

We're not talking about hypotheticals. We're talking about the reality of a people defending itself against genocide. I can't believe I'm even having a conversation with someone so utterly disconnected from reality.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy, "Should Britain recognise the state of Palestine?"

Sarah Champion, "Yes"

Krishnan Guru-Murthy, "Should Britain call this a genocide?"

Sarah Champion, "I can't see it as anything other than a genocide"

It's not self defense. It was never self defense; just theft, murder and colonisation, which has now reached the point where it can only be called genocide.
Self defense is what the indigenous people of Palestine have been forced into since 1947.

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen."

🧵 Read the words of WFP’s Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau describing the conditions, danger, and shortages driving hunger in #Gaza.

Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die July 21, 2025 AFP has been working with 1 writer, 3 photographers and 6 videographers, all freelance, in the Gaza Strip since its staff journalists left in 2024. Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years. We refuse to watch them die. One of them, Bashar, has been working with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then freelance photographer, and since 2024, as lead photographer. On July 19th he managed to post a message on Facebook: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.” Bashar, 30, works & lives in the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another under Israeli bombings. For > a year he’s lived in utter destitution, working at extreme risk to his life. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness. Since Feb, Bashar’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother, 4 brothers & sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any furnishings, except a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had “fallen, due to hunger.” Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it’s no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant prices. The banking system has collapsed, and those who exchange money via online bank accounts charge a commission of up to 40%. AFP no longer has the ability to provide them with a vehicle and there is not enough fuel to allow these journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car means becoming a target for Israeli airstrikes. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. (alt txt continued in next post)

A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"

Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:

#nzpol

According to Willis on RNZ news just now...

people feeling the pinch about the increase in the cost of living are just "crying crocodile tears"

Govt gives green light and $83m for Waikato medical school Health Minister Simeon Brown said the school, an election promise from the National Party, will focus on primary care and rural health.

A cynic might assume this means National/ACT want to close down #Otago's Med School, since there's no financial logic in spending $200 million there, when Otago could train extra medical graduates for a lot LESS money.
Because other than pork-barrel politics or corruption, this makes no other sense.

Part 2:

This oral submission is 🔥

Part 1:

THIS ⬇️

Oh, so *now* it's the world economy to blame

This is oligarchy. This is obscene.

While 60% live paycheck to paycheck & kids go hungry, Jeff Bezos, worth $230 billion, goes to Venice on his $500 million yacht for a $20 million wedding & spends $5 million on a ring while his real tax rate is just 1.1%.

End this oligarchy.

Aussies are fighting to scrap an outrageously unfair wealth transfer, an outrageously unfair wealth transfer that David Seymour just introduced in AotearoaNZ. Never thought I’d say this, but Aussies might just be smarter than us…😬😰 #nzpol #OneTermGovernment #Aotearoa #NZ

Peter Thiel built ICE’s deportation machine.

Now Palantir is processing 400M+ data points inside Iran—from satellite images to social media—for the nuclear deal.

War with Iran wouldn’t just be catastrophic. It would mean billions in profits for Thiel and Palantir.

This is literally a far-right US Republican attack phrase (used to target people who are anti-Trump) www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...

Evoked some words of astonishment on my part, to put it mildly. Disingenuous?? Talk about every accusation being an admission. How can she live with herself on an intellectual level, knowing the hypocrisy of what she says?

Taking off my shitposter: the reason we are being SO jokey is we clearly see these terrifying people shouldn't be in charge of everything, are destroying and stealing the entire country, we are powerless to stop it because even the Democrats hate us, and one day people will say no one saw it coming

Oh my days Chlöe Swarbrick just OWNED James Meager rations in the house as he denied making 'gun finger gesture' to her, when others clearly saw it. She withdrew as he cried like a school kid & thus PROVING her point about issues of 'he said she said' in parliament & Privileges Committee rulings.

Well what happened today in Parliament makes complete sense when you realize bullying and subjugating Māori was core tenet of the coalition agreement. Every policy every budget decision leads back to that.

Watch live: Parliament debates Te Pāti Māori MPs' punishment for Treaty Principles haka Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi have been suspended from Parliament for 21 days and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke has been suspended for 7 days.

This is a stain on Parliament. A vulgar triumph of prissy legalism and historical fabrication over justice and reality. Naked exercise of majoritarian power to punish those who insist that the truth of history is still the truth even if it is not popular www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Someone Else's Country | Film | NZ On Screen Someone Else's Country - Someone Else’s Country looks critically at the radical economic changes implemented by the 1984 Labour Government — where privatisation of state assets was part of a wider age...

Just putting this freely available documentary in the feed for no particular reason this Ruth Richardson-honouring morning. The second half in particular.

www.nzonscreen.com/title/someon...

Rights Aotearoa's submission on the Regulatory Standards Bill. Submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee on the Regulatory Standards Bill On behalf of: Rights Aotearoa, paul@chsa.nz We request to speak to our submission to the committee. Date: 29 May ...

***PLEASE SHARE*** - We want to inspire others.

The Regulatory Standards Bill is the most undemocratic piece of legislation ever proposed in Aotearoa.

Rights Aotearoa's 20-page submission is below.

(@taniawaikatolawyer.bsky.social @tepaatimaori.bsky.social)

www.rightsaotearoa.nz/regulatory-s...

Child poverty rates inAoNZ 1982-2024. Available https://www.stats.govt.nz/methods/child-poverty-statistics-year-ended-june-2024-technical-appendix/

THE 1990s graph. That big jump in child poverty rates? 1991. Ruth fucking Richardson. We have never recovered and likely never will.

#nzpol

If Bishop is so triggered by te ao Māori that he can't behave decently when confronted by it, he should not attend the Aotearoa Music Awards. And if he insists on attending, perhaps he could do with a minder to keep him off the beers.

'What a load of crap': Chris Bishop caught 'ranting' during Stan Walker's Aotearoa Music Awards performance Renowned musician Don McGlashan confronted the Cabinet minister over his comments at the event on Thursday night.

I was there on Thursday night and Stan Walker's performance was vivid, vibrant and meaningful, the high point of the evening. That's why people were on their feet. Chris Bishop's behaviour was thin-skinned, disrespectful and sad. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...