A piece I wrote the other day about AI and stolen books. buttondown.com/unsettling/a...

Stolen Books

When it comes to AI, call me a sceptic. It doesn’t help that five of my books were illegally downloaded by Anthropic for AI ‘training’ purposes according to...

buttondown.com

Just your occasional reminder that Martyn “Bomber” Bradbury regularly claims that Grant is the best columnist in the country…

Marc Daalder@marcdaalder.bsky.social · 12mo ago

obviously there are a lot of things wrong with Damien Grant's column because he is either not very smart on Covid or willingly misleading on it. but 1 in particular is the idea that we've since turned against the response. no we haven't. 64% of voters at the 2023 election approved of the response.

Lest we forget, Cook attempted to enter Wellington harbour on two occasions (once on the Endeavour and once on the Resolution) and failed both times. Not a good omen really. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Kupe and Cook: Names of new Cook Strait ferries announced

The two new Cook Strait ferries will be named Kupe and Cook.

rnz.co.nz

The Taxpayers' Union doesn't just advocate for lower taxes. Our research found they actively construct a political identity, 'taxpayer citizenship', that promotes who deserves rights in Aotearoa. Here's what it's made of. 🔻 buff.ly/MIayuwQ #NZPolitics #Aotearoa #TaxpayerCitizenship

Today my colleagues and I are releasing the first outputs from our research 'Who Counts as a Taxpayer? The Taxpayers' Union and Citizenship Rights in Aotearoa'. It's an in depth look at how the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union associates citizenship rights with paying tax www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFuQ...

Who Counts as a Taxpayer? Video 1

YouTube video by Who Counts as a Taxpayer

youtube.com

Well, well, well. New Zealand Initiative staffing decisions are fascinating - former NZI chief editor, Nathan Smith, a far-right blogger exposed in 2020, and now this. 👀 www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Climate briefing note sent to PM's chief policy adviser, it has been revealed

The staffer received a document from Fonterra and Z Energy that made suggestions for a potential law change.

rnz.co.nz

Whakamihi @tinamakereti.bsky.social winner of the Ockhams General Non-Fiction Award 2026! @thwupbooks.bsky.social #theockhams

And the Ockham award for nonfiction goes to Tina Makereti!!! YES!!!

The most blunt anti-muslim campaigns of history reennacted just a few blocks away from Al Noor Mosque. They know better. #nzpol

Russell in the Wops@matuajacob.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The cognitive dissonance of a stadium being bestowed the mana of a reo Māori name and a crusade cavalry reenactment parading the green. #nzpol

I had one of those weirdly life-changing converations yesterday when a colleague I haven't seen in years made some random comments in passing that left me totally revising my major work-life and life priorities. I'm still kind of reeling but yeah. Wow. Definitely the right guy at the right time.🤯

You can't fight racism with more racism and that's all I have to say on the matter.

Jonathan Ayling touting himself as a"diversity hire"? Oh wait... he's serious.

Vindicated! Every so often in this angry old world, there's a win. Nice one, Sanjana. #@sanjanah.bsky.social www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3609...

Julian Batchelor ‘wholly unsuccessful’ in defamation claim against TVNZ

Julian Batchelor’s defamation claim against TVNZ has been thrown out.

stuff.co.nz

The vast majority of Māori children end up in state schools and despite the current 'browning' of charter schools IMO we have a mokopunatanga responsibility to stand and fight in those spaces where Te Tiriti is breached daily. Neither system sufficiently shifts the political dial for our tamariki.

Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua Feeling some very big 'feels' as I read this. Arohanui e hoa xx @lajacq.bsky.social e-tangata.co.nz/reflections/...

Jacquie Kidd: Living while dying | E-Tangata

“Living while dying, grieving while anticipating, good days and appalling days, happiness and despair, all co-exist quite comfortably within te ao Māori.” — Jacquie Kidd, on how whakapapa has guided h...

e-tangata.co.nz

Nicola Willis getting a tad snarky with Jenna Lynch at today's post-Cabinet press conference. And now Tova's broken ranks and asked the PM the question that dare not speak its name-will you still be the leader? Willis seems to be heaving big sighs but she may have taken a diazepam ahead of time

Is TVNZ seriously not going to cover the latest poll tonight? We had to tune into TV3 news. Political interference, perhaps?🤷

Trust me, the woman of academia are not at all surprised by the number of academic men orbiting Epstein.

So... will there be a challenge to the Labour Party leadership or not? With all these damn redundancies, most of my sources have left the building, and the stalwarts of the Wellington rumour mill are as confused as a bunch of headless chooks. They may as well be speaking Klingon.

It was a huge honour to speak with Avery on this podcast a while back. I’m looking forward to listening to this final episode. A huge loss to see the Unsettling Extremism podcast and He Whenua Taurikura close. Mauri ora @averysmith.bsky.social @joannakidman.bsky.social

Avery Smith@averysmith.bsky.social · 7mo ago

As He Whenua Taurikura closes its doors, this final episode distils years of research into a narrative about what extremism really threatens: not just physical safety, but the fundamental human need to belong and our ideas of peace. open.spotify.com/episode/3umc... #populism #GRT #islamophobia

As He Whenua Taurikura closes its doors, this final episode distils years of research into a narrative about what extremism really threatens: not just physical safety, but the fundamental human need to belong and our ideas of peace. open.spotify.com/episode/3umc... #populism #GRT #islamophobia

67,906 days (or 2,231 months) later... and sovereignty still not ceded. Never ceded.

... Umm, hello? Mr Luxon?...This is Venezuela calling. ... ? Yeah gidday, we can't take your call right now. Please leave your message after the beep. ... Okaay, it's just that the Rules-Based International Order has broken down and... [BEEEEP]

Over-hearing Avis rental car staff at Christchurch airport yesterday charging a price-gouging $4000 for one car for one week to an overseas tourist. Attempting to get us to sign a rental car agreement without providing the actual agreement. Cowboys!

Say what now?! www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...

"When decisions become contentious, the backstops to resolve conflict tend to be drawn from western practices, and include things like a reliance on centralised authority, closed-door meetings, and formal votes": Sasha McMeeking e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-...

Which mandate matters most? | E-Tangata

“Māori institutions can’t rely on formal mandates alone. If we want legitimacy that endures, we need to design institutions that reflect our own power dynamics.” — Sacha McMeeking.

e-tangata.co.nz

I've signed our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/pr...

Protect Te Tiriti in Education

Aotearoa should be a place where everyone, regardless of their background, is respected and part of a vibrant connected community. Where everyone feels a sense of belonging and knows their children wi...

our.actionstation.org.nz

"Knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing." Freire calls this the 'banking system of education' This is what Stanford/Seymour are doing to our children

Joanna Kidman@joannakidman.bsky.social · 9mo ago

“One cannot expect positive results from an educational or political action program which fails to respect the particular view of the world held by the people. Such a program constitutes cultural invasion, good intentions notwithstanding.” ― Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

“One cannot expect positive results from an educational or political action program which fails to respect the particular view of the world held by the people. Such a program constitutes cultural invasion, good intentions notwithstanding.” ― Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Joanna Kidman@joannakidman.bsky.social · 9mo ago

“If the structure does not permit dialogue the structure must be changed” ― Paulo Freire

“If the structure does not permit dialogue the structure must be changed” ― Paulo Freire

Joanna Kidman@joannakidman.bsky.social · 9mo ago

“Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferals of information.” ― Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (It's a Freirean kind of day)