Hard News: The Digital Natives
152 Responses
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Sacha, in reply to
Not so sure she’s a terrific ‘political operative’
Did amazing work for Nurses Union, etc, and smartest tv commentary I've seen recently about the left. Could be a real unifier.
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Is she digital?
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Sacha, in reply to
dunno. great question :)
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BenWilson, in reply to
In Horan's case, I'm taking the piss. In Harre's case, it's a genuine question.
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Greg Dawson, in reply to
Is she digital?
Ten times over!
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BenWilson, in reply to
Decadigital!!
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Greg Dawson, in reply to
And that's without even taking her shoes off - she's perfect!
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Laila Harre.
I think that’s a bit of a win.
Big win. She has left-wing cred – NDU, Green Party and the ILO in Fiji(!) in the past few years. But she also ran the HR part of the Auckland Transition Agency, bringing the old councils’ staff in the new Auckland Council structure, which must have been a very demanding role. . She’s a business owner. And, of course, she’s been an MP.
I’m genuinely impressed. Caveat: she doesn’t seem to stay anywhere for long.
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BenWilson, in reply to
But what on earth does she have to do with the Internet?
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Rich of Observationz, in reply to
They could have had that Al Gore*
Non-NZ citizenship notwithstanding. Why do we have these silly restrictions? -
Andrew Geddis, in reply to
But what on earth does she have to do with the Internet?
I'm not sure the Internet Party has anything to do with the Internet. What makes you think that it does?
More seriously, this rather upends the idea that Dotcom had pwned the MANA Movement. It looks more like the MANA Movement (and its sympathisers helping organise the Internet Party) have pwned Dotcom.
(See how I used interweb speak to put my point of view?)
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BenWilson, in reply to
What makes you think that it does?
Yes, on the day, the internet was the pwn.
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Rich of Observationz, in reply to
Why should Dotcom and Mana have divergent agendas? There seems to be an assumption that they do, because of their very different backgrounds, but has any indication come from Dotcom that he's got a bunch of hideously reactionary policies he's going to enact just as soon as he finally achieves unfettered power?
One might think that Dotcom would want "business friendly" policies, but such policies aren't really needed by a company like Mega. He doesn't have any need to employ cheap labour, he should still be able to make a lot of money* under a fair tax system and I don't think he needs to desecrate any pristine wilderness.
In many ways, a straight-up business is better off with a leftist government. You haven't got to compete with other businesses in tax avoidance, or to spend money and time persuading politicians to channel the pork your way.
* Assuming it's actually possible to make any money at all, long term, from a business based on buying expensive disk and bandwidth and giving it away below cost. Ahem.
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BenWilson, in reply to
It looks more like the MANA Movement (and its sympathisers helping organise the Internet Party) have pwned Dotcom.
Not sure. Maybe he got what he wanted out of it all. I doubt he’d be parting with massive cash otherwise. But if so, it seems like the Internet Party is something of a sham. Harre will hopefully set the record straight on her commitment to such core principles as universal free UFB, and a new submarine cable, and copyrights. If she picks out only the stuff that is pretty much in agreement with Mana, then basically it is Mana. I’d expect Mana voters to vote for it. Or more likely to vote for Mana.
ETA: Which, considering the vote sharing, is basically the same thing. They have the same party list. I'm currently still WTFing about the whole thing. If Mana has done any outsmarting, it would appear to be of themselves.
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If it's not Laila Harre in the end, then the media have just done a Dewey Defeats Truman.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
But what on earth does she have to do with the Internet?
Did you read the policy principles? I think she can work with that.
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BenWilson, in reply to
Did you read the policy principles?
Of the IP? Yes.
I think she can work with that
I'm sure she can. I just don't see what she brings to whatever it is that is actually different between the Internet Party and Mana. If there is nothing, then my comment that it's a sham stands. And who do they think they're fooling? I get a real impression that they've talked themselves into thinking this is a much cleverer move than it actually is. As if the minor surprise value of Harre jumping in makes up for the fact that in the world of the internet, and technology generally, she's a complete nobody.
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Surprised? I'm completely gutted!
I signed up Laila to the Labour Party many moons ago... I was delighted that we were finally back in the same Green waka... and she jumps ship again! That'll take some getting used to.
But it certainly makes the "Reddit Karma" party (thank you Civilian) a going concern. I've always thought that NZ needed a parliamentary party to the left of the Greens and Labour... I thought it might be Laila's Alliance, back when she ditched Jim... If this gets more people to vote, it could be a game changer. -
I’m one of those who sees Dotcom as a flawed person in many ways, while also recognising that to greater or lesser extents we are ALL flawed people. What I am absolutely grateful to him for is exposing the extent to which our own government was turning a blind eye to the law governing spying on us all. Further, he exposed the extent to which our own government allows other governments to spy on us all…and do it with impunity.
Give the guy a medal. He’s done more for the cause of civil liberties in NZ than anyone else in recent times, despite the fact the government responded by eroding our freedoms even further. At least we now see them for what they really are.
But I’ll be voting Green because they are the only major party that hasn’t sold out on exactly these issue. Sue Bradford, Keith Locke and the other Green MPs past, present and deceased – Rod Donald – have been our consistent champions for the past 25 years. I respect and support that.
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
the verte jewel party
Green MPs past, present and deceased – Rod Donald – have been our consistent champions for the past 25 years. I respect and support that.
Like minded individuals (in the Banks Peninsula area) take note :The Rod Donald Trust is looking for trustees.
(till June 6) -
Andrew Geddis, in reply to
I’m sure she can. I just don’t see what she brings to whatever it is that is actually different between the Internet Party and Mana. If there is nothing, then my comment that it’s a sham stands.
I don't think anyone would claim that Harre was chosen to drive IP policy development in the IT/tech freedom area. I think the idea more is that she'll front that policy as developed by others, will manage the relationship with MANA and bring a general measure of competence and professionalism to the enterprise. Those political skills are why she's there, not her internet learnings.
Does this make the exercise a "sham"? Well, political reality is that without a tie-in with the MANA Movement, the IP isn't going to get into Parliament. And without getting into Parliament, the exercise is a futile one. So stepping back and looking at this in terms of pure power dynamics, MANA actually held more cards in this liaison than did the IP. So if the price of a deal was choosing a leader that the MANA Movement could recognise as "one of us", then the IP pretty much had to pay it.
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Let's be clear... anywhere else in the world, it would be called the Pirate Party... but Dotcom is already in a power of sh*t with the FBI, so that name was out of the question. If you look at the history of pirate parties in Europe, they tend to last one electoral cycle and get swept aside, because they don't manage to broaden their agenda or acquire wider legitimacy. But the essential questions they raise are very important ones, not at all trivial. And by starting out as part of a broader alliance, Dotcom has a chance to make his mark. NZ needs a party to the left of Labour (why should the right wingers get all the fun?), and this Mana/Internet tie-up looks like a historic opportunity. And if it doesn't work... they will be out in 2017. But I trust Laila to build something that will last.
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A useful Herald profile of Harre from 2010, as she was leaving the Auckland Transition Agency, noting her zstrategic and organisation skills.
And a weird, petulant editorial from this morning's Herald. The author doesn't understand extradition law and can't even spell Harre's name correctly.
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I just love this election, so full of twists and turns and unexpected surprises. Its going to be a wild ride.
I am not convinced IP/Mana will fit neatly onto the old Left/Right spectrum. Actually I am hopeful we are seeing something else emerging here.
When the IP first approached Mana it seemed a somewhat cynical move but like any party its a bunch of human beings and I wonder what influence the shear human power of the maori world had on the Internet Party people . To emerse yourself in even a part of that world can be a moving experiance - life changing for some. Humanising the digital world with maori wairua seems like a creative way to evolve a something new in the political world. Hell lets face it parliament needs humanising it can be a disgusting little fight pit at times.
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