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Cross-posting to LJ blocked...
Feb. 26th, 2017 11:15 pmJust in case any of you missed the announcement, you can't cross-post to LJ at the moment...
https://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/
I wonder if it's because of bandwidth issues, or because too many LJers have been moving to DW?
https://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/
I wonder if it's because of bandwidth issues, or because too many LJers have been moving to DW?
Labour wins Mt Albert bi-election in NZ
Feb. 25th, 2017 10:00 pmLabour very comfortably won the bi-election in Mt Albert...
Labour - Jacinda Ardern: 10,000.
Greens - Julie Anne Genter: 1489.
The Opportunities Party - Geoff Simmons: 600.
(Yes - that round ten thousand is correct.)
TOP won't be very happy with that result given the National Party wasn't even standing, but at least it's near 5% of the vote which is the threshold for parties in New Zealand's general elections. And the voter turnout was only about 30%, so it's not as though Mt Albert cared much about this election.
Labour - Jacinda Ardern: 10,000.
Greens - Julie Anne Genter: 1489.
The Opportunities Party - Geoff Simmons: 600.
(Yes - that round ten thousand is correct.)
TOP won't be very happy with that result given the National Party wasn't even standing, but at least it's near 5% of the vote which is the threshold for parties in New Zealand's general elections. And the voter turnout was only about 30%, so it's not as though Mt Albert cared much about this election.
Testing a Tag
Feb. 22nd, 2017 06:17 pmThis is a test to see if my tags retain their upper-case letters. So, I'm tagging this post with "Testing a Tag"...
TOP and the UBI
Feb. 22nd, 2017 08:54 amGeoff Simmons of New Zealand's new 'The Opportunities Party' (TOP) mentions the Unconditional Basic Income in an AMA on Reddit here... In fact he mentioned it three times...
"I should also say that the long term goal for us to create an Unconditional Basic Income. That way people would get a stipend from the Govt, and wouldn't lose it if they moved into work."
"Massive issue which is why we want to close the loopholes on the taxation of assets (including robots and algorithms!) and use that money ultimately to create an Unconditional Basic Income."
"The long term goal for us to create an Unconditional Basic Income. That way people would get a stipend from the Govt, and wouldn't lose it if they moved into work. We have an economic policy on the way, but the biggest part is honestly tax reform. NZ's economy would be transformed if our investment went into business not housing. Just look at Germany."
So, as I speculated about it here, a UBI is part of TOP's thinking, and I see it gets a mention in their tax FAQ...
"7. What about the UBI (Unconditional Basic Income – giving all citizens a regular modest payment, no strings attached)?"
"Our work there suggests that once we have closed the loopholes in the tax system then we have the ability to start to phase in a modest UBI, and reduce our reliance on targeted welfare benefits which are dehumanising and evidence tells us, makes poverty worse.
"But we must plug the major loopholes in our tax regime first. As you can see, this policy needs to be phased in over time, and the same will be needed for the UBI.
"As part of this package we will ask the Government of the day to have a holistic review of the tax and welfare system to develop possible pathways to implement the UBI. I am a huge fan of a UBI because it acknowledges the contribution to society from the 1 million people who work but don’t get paid. Without those folk caring for children, the elderly and our communities our society would collapse. The UBI is modest recognition of their existence."
The Reddit AMA was due to Geoff Simmons contesting the Mt Albert bi-election. It's a very quite affair apparently, but will be the first chance to see if TOP's getting any traction. That election's this weekend
"I should also say that the long term goal for us to create an Unconditional Basic Income. That way people would get a stipend from the Govt, and wouldn't lose it if they moved into work."
"Massive issue which is why we want to close the loopholes on the taxation of assets (including robots and algorithms!) and use that money ultimately to create an Unconditional Basic Income."
"The long term goal for us to create an Unconditional Basic Income. That way people would get a stipend from the Govt, and wouldn't lose it if they moved into work. We have an economic policy on the way, but the biggest part is honestly tax reform. NZ's economy would be transformed if our investment went into business not housing. Just look at Germany."
So, as I speculated about it here, a UBI is part of TOP's thinking, and I see it gets a mention in their tax FAQ...
"7. What about the UBI (Unconditional Basic Income – giving all citizens a regular modest payment, no strings attached)?"
"Our work there suggests that once we have closed the loopholes in the tax system then we have the ability to start to phase in a modest UBI, and reduce our reliance on targeted welfare benefits which are dehumanising and evidence tells us, makes poverty worse.
"But we must plug the major loopholes in our tax regime first. As you can see, this policy needs to be phased in over time, and the same will be needed for the UBI.
"As part of this package we will ask the Government of the day to have a holistic review of the tax and welfare system to develop possible pathways to implement the UBI. I am a huge fan of a UBI because it acknowledges the contribution to society from the 1 million people who work but don’t get paid. Without those folk caring for children, the elderly and our communities our society would collapse. The UBI is modest recognition of their existence."
The Reddit AMA was due to Geoff Simmons contesting the Mt Albert bi-election. It's a very quite affair apparently, but will be the first chance to see if TOP's getting any traction. That election's this weekend
Within a few weeks now, it seems, so before the end of March, I guess...
http://rocketlabusa.com/latest/
http://rocketlabusa.com/latest/
Bi-Elections, New Zealand Style...
Feb. 16th, 2017 08:58 pmMt Albert by-election candidates questioned...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/
Compare with SpaceX, which asked for people's videos of their last explosion which they'd overlooked to record themselves (as far as I know).
Trying to get this into law is a great way to lose any public goodwill they may have. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Compare with SpaceX, which asked for people's videos of their last explosion which they'd overlooked to record themselves (as far as I know).
Trying to get this into law is a great way to lose any public goodwill they may have. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Parsing with Rebol
Feb. 11th, 2017 01:47 pmI spotted a few comments in Hacker News about Rebol being used in the wild, which is a rare thing to read...
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=
The NZ National Party has come a long way.
Feb. 9th, 2017 07:59 pmThe New Zealand Prime Minister on Waitangi Day this year.
And a description of the 1970s Bastion Point protests mentioned in that article.
It was the National Party under Muldoon that carried out the heavy-handed eviction of the protestors - only to then lose in the courts.
And a description of the 1970s Bastion Point protests mentioned in that article.
It was the National Party under Muldoon that carried out the heavy-handed eviction of the protestors - only to then lose in the courts.
A Music Review
Feb. 7th, 2017 07:15 pmBut not by me, but by the New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister...
http://thespinoff.co.nz/music/07-02-
A bit light on opinion though, so I don't think she's ready to give up her day job quite yet.
http://thespinoff.co.nz/music/07-02-
A bit light on opinion though, so I don't think she's ready to give up her day job quite yet.
Trump: Strong or Weak?
Feb. 1st, 2017 07:49 pmBack to American politics: This is a well-thought-out conspiracy theory...
https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/
And this is an equally well-thought-out response to that article...
https://tompepinsky.com/2017/01/30/
My own feeling is Trump didn't really have a plan for what he'd do if he became President, but those supporting him and now making up his inner-circle probably did. As with Bush II, but on steroids.
https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/
And this is an equally well-thought-out response to that article...
https://tompepinsky.com/2017/01/30/
My own feeling is Trump didn't really have a plan for what he'd do if he became President, but those supporting him and now making up his inner-circle probably did. As with Bush II, but on steroids.
TOP to contest Mt Albert bi-election
Feb. 1st, 2017 06:38 pmAlthough originally intending to be a list-only party, The Opportunities Party has decided to contest electoral seats after all, starting with the Mt Albert bi-election...
With both the Greens and Labour candidates already being list members in parliament and neither National or New Zealand First standing a candidate, TOP may actually do well here. It's certainly going to be a weird election!
With both the Greens and Labour candidates already being list members in parliament and neither National or New Zealand First standing a candidate, TOP may actually do well here. It's certainly going to be a weird election!
Opposing Trump
Jan. 31st, 2017 05:50 am"Don't waste your time trying to prove that this grand idea is better than that one. Ditch all the big words. The problem, remember, is not the message but the messenger. It's not that Trump supporters are too stupid to see right from wrong, it's that you're more valuable to them as an enemy than as a compatriot. Your challenge is to prove that you belong in the same tribe as them - that you are American in exactly the same way they are."
That's from here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/
Which is "A version of this article"...
https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2017/
In a democracy, you don't win by defeating your enemy but by persuading them to join you.
That's from here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/
Which is "A version of this article"...
https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2017/
In a democracy, you don't win by defeating your enemy but by persuading them to join you.
A perfect protest image...
Jan. 29th, 2017 10:59 pmEasy to remember and could be drawn by anyone in 10 seconds...
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/
Hard part: Having red, white, blue, orange, gold and black colours to hand...
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/
Hard part: Having red, white, blue, orange, gold and black colours to hand...
TOP Topped
Dec. 18th, 2016 12:30 pmRodney Hide, former leader of ACT, nicely skewers Gareth Morgan, leader of recently launched TOP...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/
TOP's greatest liability is probably Morgan himself, as he doesn't seem to have a clue about how he comes across.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/
TOP's greatest liability is probably Morgan himself, as he doesn't seem to have a clue about how he comes across.
From the Fun with Red department
Dec. 18th, 2016 07:38 amhttp://www.red-lang.org/2016/12/
Or how to code that animated voting systems whatsit.
Or how to code that animated voting systems whatsit.
Commuterland
Dec. 14th, 2016 10:57 amThese are some wonderful maps of the US made from people's daily commutes...
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/
It's a reasonable assumption you care about where you live AND where you work, so these are probably a better indication of population demographics than just where people live, which is usually all a census asks. (If I remember correctly.)
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/
It's a reasonable assumption you care about where you live AND where you work, so these are probably a better indication of population demographics than just where people live, which is usually all a census asks. (If I remember correctly.)
The guy's not very impressed...
http://sciblogs.co.nz/the-dismal-
"It has been eight largely wasted years – building on at least the previous nine largely wasted years – in which none of the big structural economic challenges New Zealand faced has been even seriously addressed."
There's an interesting graph there showing "Real GDP per hour worked", with NZ flat-lining by that measure when Key's government took office while Australia continued to improve. Tax-cuts were partly what got National into office, so maybe they worked against productivity.
Key I think was mostly just unlucky. The GFC began to bite just as he took office and then the Christchurch earthquake happened in his first term too. Not a good time to make large course corrections.
http://sciblogs.co.nz/the-dismal-
"It has been eight largely wasted years – building on at least the previous nine largely wasted years – in which none of the big structural economic challenges New Zealand faced has been even seriously addressed."
There's an interesting graph there showing "Real GDP per hour worked", with NZ flat-lining by that measure when Key's government took office while Australia continued to improve. Tax-cuts were partly what got National into office, so maybe they worked against productivity.
Key I think was mostly just unlucky. The GFC began to bite just as he took office and then the Christchurch earthquake happened in his first term too. Not a good time to make large course corrections.
