Under the Surface
This page collects my thoughts about society. I write fiction with a social conscience which means I like to look under the carpet at the ‘stuff’ we pretend isn't there. I’m not prolific (i.e. annoying) . I prefer that people say - they don’t write a lot, but what they do is worth reading. Sign up to my mailing list to hear when I’ve posted new material.
Joe Biden’s NZ parallel
Looking into my crystal ball, I can see a NZ parallel to Joe Biden's exit and I hope I'm right.
Democracy needs experienced minds
I told them, “That’s a wealth of experience you have to draw on. The trick is, can you?”
Why I hate banks!
Banks are make eye watering profits, why do they need to make super-charged profits when Kiwis are struggling?
The state of the fourth estate
Without freedom of the press, democracy is on shaky ground. In countries where the press is overtly and obviously controlled – China, Russia, North Korea, Syria, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia are some of the worst examples according to Reporters sans frontières – the state controls society through some form of autocratic rule. There is no pretence – citizens’ rights and their very existence are at the state’s pleasure.
It’s called “Austerity” and it doesn’t work.
Austerity - difficult economic conditions created by government measures to reduce public expenditure.
Common knowledge
Interestingly, it seems common knowledge doesn’t need to be true.
Bad neighbours
The real problem is we have politicians (and political commentators for that matter) who suffer from one-dimensional thinking.
Leaving Substack . . .
The one “thing” I’m convinced of is that there is no “right” answer. There is also no “truth”, with a capital T, to be found.
Keeping the bastards honest – is it possible?
My question this week is – as a citizen, is it possible to keep the “bastards” sitting in the government benches honest?
Growth
Growth has become an automatic assumption, something organisations and countries must do to survive.
The capitalist singularity
The moment, recognised historically, when the first domino fell.
Echo chambers
Echo chamber - an enclosed space where sound reverberates; an environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered.
We need grown-up thinking to beat poverty
“Without an awareness of the whole, there can be no strategy. Without strategy, there is only drift." Thomas Friedman
Two injured people - you can only take one to hospital ...
You’re driving a borrowed two-seater sports car on a remote road and come across an accident. Two people are injured – one person is moderately injured and conscious, the other person has life-threatening injuries and is unconscious. The closest hospital is half an hour’s drive away and there’s no phone reception. You can only take one person in your car.
Letter to New Zealand’s richest man
Until I googled you, I knew little about you apart from the fact that you were wealthy. You will know nothing about me – I doubt you have read my books (though I hope I’m wrong). I’m interested in why you, a wealthy individual, just gave a large chunk of cash to the major right-wing political parties in New Zealand. I’d like to understand your views and actions, not judge them.
Sportswashing
The title makes me sound like a parent tired of washing the sports clothes of their children. It’s not that!
Conservatives are a handbrake on progress
National's Justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith said the party as a whole did not support any lowering of the age, and would keep the voting age at 18.
Surveillance with no public debate
Whether it’s the New Zealand Police or, as in this case MBIE, the increasing use of surveillance tools with no public debate is concerning.
Why is Labour anti-labour?
The unions have presented them with the perfect opportunity to save money – considerably more than Thomas’ call to switch off lights. Don’t pass on the pay rise for six months. Better still, don’t pass it on at all.
