politics
Powerful reminder of the underlying action required to address disasters like the L.A. 2025 fires.
The chronicle of a fire foretold | Rebecca Solnit
no personal preparation can compensate for the lack of the collective preparation that is meaningful international climate action. The current fires are reminders of the costs of forgetting
I was this many days old when I realised that this was the origin of the saying “a day without Lesbians is like a day without sunshine”.
Anita Bryant, singer and anti-gay rights crusader, dies aged 84
“Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.”
Book of the Day - “The Future is History” (Masha Gessen, 2017)
Subtitled “How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia”. A warning we need to heed.
#books #history #booksky #totalitarianism
Glorious day in Pōneke the day before the hikoi mō Te Tiriti hits town.
It’s going to be a fascinating day tomorrow.
End of a long saga in Kiribati
It has been a very long year for my partner, Judge Bill Hastings, as a serious constitutional crisis has unfolded in the Pacific island state of Kiribati.
I am extremely proud of the work he did in Kiribati before and during this crisis, and of the integrity and measured judicial approach he has demonstrated throughout.
It is deeply sad that what started as a wonderful opportunity to help the further development of an independent and increasingly indigenous judiciary in Kiribati has ended the way it has.
The article below provides a good account of this week’s developments:
New Zealand judge resigns from top-ranking Kiribati judicial position
A Wikipedia article provides the full background to the constitutional crisis:
Lies are the path to totalitarianism
“Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it.” – Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism 💬
I think we all need to work hard to retain our composure in the face of the many challenges and provocations we face. Not because we shouldn’t address those issues - but precisely because a well considered response is essential. #mbnov
Alexa, Amazon and loss leading
So it seems that Alexa is making huge losses for Amazon.
It is not that making losses is unusual for Amazon; their entire business model is based on ‘loss leading’. The problem with Alexa appears to be that the ‘loss’ wasn’t ‘leading’ to anything…
Amazon Alexa is a colossal failure - on pace to lose 10 billion this year
“I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.”
Maya Angelou (New York Times, 2013) #mbnov
In Aotearoa NZ today, a “Minister” is a member of the governing Cabinet, with responsibility for oversight of one or more portfolios and Ministries or Departments. The religious use of the term is very much secondary; nearly half of all Kiwis now profess “no religion”. #mbnov
Achieving consensus in an inclusive and equitable manner is always a challenge; but it is almost always worth the effort in the long run. #mbnov
I’m constantly in awe and admiration of the work of our public health workers in Aotearoa. They saved us from thousands of Covid-related deaths, and they continue to do great work despite resource constraints. Ngā mihi nui / huge thanks to you all! #mbnov #health
Exhibition catalog from “Queer - Stories from the NGV collection”. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
