Posts by Marion Ogier
-
Hard News: The next four years, in reply to
Yes agree. This a good speculation. What I find depressing and interesting is that people are so hung up on their own issues and interests that they are missing the key thing about the Republican and Trump victory. He and they won because of the long term, calculated and on going disenfranchisement of many Americans. Obama gets it. No other democracy makes it so hard to take part in the voting process. Identity politics is really the struggle to get the right official identity to vote. There are never enough polling booths in strategic areas. Whole districts are gerrymandered. The Dems have played some of these games but really the Republicans have worked on this for years and been rewarded. Unless the Dems put their money and much vaunted "ground game" to work on these issues in time for the mid terms they will go nowhere and the whole ghastly crew of thieves, bullies, sexual creeps and would be dictators who are joyously assembling in Washington will have at least 4 years to loot and pillage.
-
This is crazy. I totally agree that putting all eggs in the Wellington basket for precious taonga is very unwise. The building holding the archives might hold up in a huge earthquake but the land beneath and around can do crazy things that make the building inaccessible and the systems that maintain it unworkable. If anything more taonga should be moved out of Wellington to diverse locations. It' s also shocking to read that there is a purpose built home for Sound Archives under construction in Christchurch that cannot be afforded. I guess it would be wishful thinking that the government stepped in to rescue this whole ill thought out venture before it is too late. I don't like to think doomy thoughts of my old home town Wellington but people need to remember that it was 5 months after the first earthquake that the killer quake struck Christchurch. People should be as prepared as they possibly can be. Wellington has not necessarily dodged the bullet.
-
Congratulations. It is fantastic to have places like Public Address, The Spinoff and The Wireless to go to for quality work in this clickbaity media world. Also Matt Nippert is fantastic - like a gold nugget in the pile of shite that is the Herald these days. And finally Wallace Chapman - I happened on the John Kirwan interview and it was great.
-
This is all crazy. I have a family member on a sickness benefit and she seems to cope with it all at present but we always worry about what might happen if some crazy new rule came in. On the other hand the whole bureaucratic mess is represented by the fact that when my husband and I applied for superannuation there was a a "super" nice treatment. And a daughter is currently in the crazy situation of trying to communicate that she has got herself a job after a short time on a benefit and can she now pay back the overpayments. They don't seem to make that easy and she is stressing out.
-
Well "adults" are not setting a very good example that voting is something to be treasured and taken seriously. Look at the sad turnouts at local and national elections. We need to acknowledge that. We also need to recognise that a big part of the problem is lack of education, starting in schools, but also the utter trivialisation of politics and issues through mainstream media is also a huge turnoff. Maybe if we get young people enthused, they will shame more adults into thinking, acting and voting about the things that really matter to us all.
-
Why does this have to be our last chance to be offered the opportunity to change our flag? Surely change can come from the bottom up as well as the top down. People are probably flegged out by now but I think the process has kicked loose some thinking and debating. Maybe there will be a groundswell for change that will make it's way through petitions etc to get Parliament to start a better process e.g with real designers involved and politicians shutting up? Who knows. Its up to the people really.
-
I'm voting to keep our current flag for lots of reasons: it does have history, the process for change has been inadequate as you say and the proposed new design looks like something that has been cut and pasted up after the results of some polling have been studied. Compromise, sop to different groups etc etc To me it looks lame and uninspiring. That said I'll be honest and say I'm not a flaggy person: no badge on my lapel, no flagpole on my house etc (that feels so American). I'm more interested in how we operate as a country - our national ethos if you like. I'd like a bit more public discussion on that, (and whether we become a republic) before we worry about flags.
And I am happy if John Key's vanity project is rejected, don't like what the man is doing to how our country operates both at home and abroad. -
Up Front: Reading Murder Books, in reply to
Totally agree. Would also recommend his Jack Irish thrillers for more of a cynical, humorous take on the corruptions of Victorian politics and some cracking Aussie dialogue.
-
Legal Beagle: Voting in the Flag Referendum, in reply to
Really? What if the informals outnumbered the first choice? Or if you don't bother to vote at all - could a low, low turnout be construed as a protest. I really hate this whole process and how we have arrived at this point.
-
Thanks Barnaby - as usual you really nail it with what is happening and what should be happening in Christchurch. Powerful writing. I can't help feeling that any future government is going to be hamstrung by the actions of this current, heartless, inept crew. Perhaps they will be more humane and focus on helping and healing all those people so disadvantaged by the squeeze of big nature and big insurance and big government, butI feel the citizens of Christchurch are going to be paying through rates and taxes to keep paying to maintain the polishing of the giant turd(s?) that is being dumped on the central city so to speak. An example would be the vast amounts being pumped into developing(over developing?) the Avon in the CBD when downstream in the east there are issues with flooding, silting, weed growth, canada geese, damaged walking paths and so on that are not being seriously addressed. There are plenty more examples where affordable local is being trumped by grandiose "we'll be a world class precinct blah blah" nonsense. The things that are drawing the world's attention are the local, grassroots initiatives.