Tuesday, September 27, 2005
More than 1200 students aged under 16 years have been banned from NZ schools nationwide so far this year because of out-of-control behaviour. Education Ministry figures showed a total of 1205 students had been banned or "excluded" for the year to September 23.
Australia's schools are on the verge of a revolution that will end "the Berlin Wall" between the public and private systems and deliver greater choice to parents, former competition watchdog chief Allan Fels has predicted. Speaking on the eve of the Schooling for the 21st Century conference, Professor Fels said it was time to debate a voucher scheme that would allow parents to spend a taxpayer-grant at public or private schools. Parents and students should also be offered greater choice between public schools, including being able to select from a cluster of schools in their region, rather than the current "take it or leave it" option based on residence.
Keith Rankin says our MMP voting system has come under much recent attack for doing exactly what it was designed to do; namely delivering a Parliament with representation by parties in proportion to votes cast. But critics have yet to state which parties they believe should have had their votes discounted. Rankin looks at what would have happened on September 17 if the election had been held under any of three other systems: FPP ("nearest the post"); SM ("supplementary member"); 1-2-3 ("preferential MMP"). He concludes that under FPP we would get a parliament made of 36 National, 33 Labour, plus Peter Dunne, another to Jim Anderton, and a third to Tariana Turia. That would leave a result of 35 National; 34 all others. For a 120-member Parliament under SM, the 2005 election would have delivered – on election night – 54 to National, 49 to Labour, 5 to the Maori Party, 3 to NZ First, 3 to Green, 2 to United-Future, 2 to Act, and 2 to the Progressives. Under 1-2-3, the centre-right (including New Zealand First) would have just prevailed over the centre-left (62:60). Votes for the likes of Destiny and Christian Heritage would have counted for the right. Preferences from the Legalise Cannabis Party would have helped the Greens, getting Nandor Tanczos back into Parliament. Under 1-2-3, there would have still been a Maori Party overhang. A likely result would have been: Progressive 1, United-Future 3, Maori 4, Act 6, Green 7, NZ First 7, National 46, Labour 48.
The recent German and Japanese elections deserve more attention than they've got because they illustrate the uneasy relationship between capitalism and democracy. Capitalism thrives on change—it inspires new technologies, products and profit opportunities. Democracy resists change—it creates powerful constituencies with a stake in the status quo. Capitalism (by which I mean an economic system that relies heavily on markets and private ownership) and democracy need each other. The one generates rising living standards; the other cushions capitalism's injustices and, thereby, anchors public support. But this mutual dependence is tricky because if democratic prerogatives are overused, they may strangle capitalism.
Reports of violent crime in the United States in 2004 stayed at the lowest level since the statistics began 32 years ago. By contrast, a United Nations report has labelled Scotland the most violent country in the developed world, with people three times more likely to be assaulted than in America. England and Wales recorded the second highest number of violent assaults while Northern Ireland recorded the fewest.
Tony Blair has admitted that the fight to prevent global warming by ordering countries to cut greenhouse gases will never be won. The UK Prime Minister said "no country is going to cut its growth or consumption" despite environmental fears.
A maverick fertility doctor announced yesterday that he has for a second time failed in his attempts to implant a cloned human embryo into a woman's womb. Panos Zavos claimed - without producing any evidence - that he had created four cloned IVF embryos, which he had then implanted into a 33-year-old woman living in the Middle East. He refused to name the country where the controversial experiment took place and admitted that he has not submitted the study to a scientific journal for peer review - the accepted way of publishing research. The controversial scientist told journalists at a press conference that he had created the four embryos from the skin cells of the woman's husband, a 35-year-old man who is incapable of producing any sperm.
China said Sunday it is imposing new regulations to control content on its news Web sites and will allow the posting of only "healthy and civilized" news. The move is part of China's ongoing efforts to police the country's 100-million Internet population. Sites should only post news on current events and politics, according to the new regulations issued by the Ministry of Information Industry and China's cabinet, the State Council. The subjects that would be acceptable under those categories was not clear. Only "healthy and civilized news and information that is beneficial to the improvement of the quality of the nation, beneficial to its economic development and conducive to social progress" will be allowed, Xinhua said. "The sites are prohibited from spreading news and information that goes against state security and public interest," it added.
Meanwhile, a bloggers' handbook aimed at helping dissidents in repressive countries avoid detection when they publish on the Internet was released in Paris on Thursday with the support of the French government. The press rights group Reporters without Borders (RSF) said the 86-page book - which is also available at its website - offers "handy tips and technical advice on how to to remain anonymous and to get round censorship, by choosing the most suitable method for each situation."
If you are fed up with the daily media diet of death and destruction, there's a new website to help you. Happynews.com, started three months ago, covers many of the international, national, sports and entertainment stories that the big guys do. But as the name implies, it doesn't cover them the same way. Happynews doesn't do bummers: no death, no destruction, no shocking Lindsay Lohan weight-loss updates. Which is to say, it doesn't do the kinds of stories that have come to define the contemporary concept of "news." Happynews founder and publisher Byron Reese says his website's take on the world may be more representative than what he sees in the newspaper or on TV. "I think the news media should give people an accurate view of reality." "What the media gives us now is not an accurate view. It's distorted. I don't want to sound like a media basher, because I'm not, but news organizations tend to report what people want and what they'll buy.
A "hurried" generation who "don’t know anything about the Bible - or Christianity" - this week received the most condensed paraphrase of the Bible to date. Author Revd Martin Hinton describes his 57-page The 100-minute Bible as "a gateway to the Bible for everybody". The ex-headmaster dedicated two years to writing a single narrative, spanning Genesis to Revelation. "We have sacrificed poetry to clarity", he admitted, in the aim of presenting anyone "in an overwhelmingly secular society … with the story and what Christianity is all about".
Australia's schools are on the verge of a revolution that will end "the Berlin Wall" between the public and private systems and deliver greater choice to parents, former competition watchdog chief Allan Fels has predicted. Speaking on the eve of the Schooling for the 21st Century conference, Professor Fels said it was time to debate a voucher scheme that would allow parents to spend a taxpayer-grant at public or private schools. Parents and students should also be offered greater choice between public schools, including being able to select from a cluster of schools in their region, rather than the current "take it or leave it" option based on residence.
Keith Rankin says our MMP voting system has come under much recent attack for doing exactly what it was designed to do; namely delivering a Parliament with representation by parties in proportion to votes cast. But critics have yet to state which parties they believe should have had their votes discounted. Rankin looks at what would have happened on September 17 if the election had been held under any of three other systems: FPP ("nearest the post"); SM ("supplementary member"); 1-2-3 ("preferential MMP"). He concludes that under FPP we would get a parliament made of 36 National, 33 Labour, plus Peter Dunne, another to Jim Anderton, and a third to Tariana Turia. That would leave a result of 35 National; 34 all others. For a 120-member Parliament under SM, the 2005 election would have delivered – on election night – 54 to National, 49 to Labour, 5 to the Maori Party, 3 to NZ First, 3 to Green, 2 to United-Future, 2 to Act, and 2 to the Progressives. Under 1-2-3, the centre-right (including New Zealand First) would have just prevailed over the centre-left (62:60). Votes for the likes of Destiny and Christian Heritage would have counted for the right. Preferences from the Legalise Cannabis Party would have helped the Greens, getting Nandor Tanczos back into Parliament. Under 1-2-3, there would have still been a Maori Party overhang. A likely result would have been: Progressive 1, United-Future 3, Maori 4, Act 6, Green 7, NZ First 7, National 46, Labour 48.
The recent German and Japanese elections deserve more attention than they've got because they illustrate the uneasy relationship between capitalism and democracy. Capitalism thrives on change—it inspires new technologies, products and profit opportunities. Democracy resists change—it creates powerful constituencies with a stake in the status quo. Capitalism (by which I mean an economic system that relies heavily on markets and private ownership) and democracy need each other. The one generates rising living standards; the other cushions capitalism's injustices and, thereby, anchors public support. But this mutual dependence is tricky because if democratic prerogatives are overused, they may strangle capitalism.
Reports of violent crime in the United States in 2004 stayed at the lowest level since the statistics began 32 years ago. By contrast, a United Nations report has labelled Scotland the most violent country in the developed world, with people three times more likely to be assaulted than in America. England and Wales recorded the second highest number of violent assaults while Northern Ireland recorded the fewest.
Tony Blair has admitted that the fight to prevent global warming by ordering countries to cut greenhouse gases will never be won. The UK Prime Minister said "no country is going to cut its growth or consumption" despite environmental fears.
A maverick fertility doctor announced yesterday that he has for a second time failed in his attempts to implant a cloned human embryo into a woman's womb. Panos Zavos claimed - without producing any evidence - that he had created four cloned IVF embryos, which he had then implanted into a 33-year-old woman living in the Middle East. He refused to name the country where the controversial experiment took place and admitted that he has not submitted the study to a scientific journal for peer review - the accepted way of publishing research. The controversial scientist told journalists at a press conference that he had created the four embryos from the skin cells of the woman's husband, a 35-year-old man who is incapable of producing any sperm.
China said Sunday it is imposing new regulations to control content on its news Web sites and will allow the posting of only "healthy and civilized" news. The move is part of China's ongoing efforts to police the country's 100-million Internet population. Sites should only post news on current events and politics, according to the new regulations issued by the Ministry of Information Industry and China's cabinet, the State Council. The subjects that would be acceptable under those categories was not clear. Only "healthy and civilized news and information that is beneficial to the improvement of the quality of the nation, beneficial to its economic development and conducive to social progress" will be allowed, Xinhua said. "The sites are prohibited from spreading news and information that goes against state security and public interest," it added.
Meanwhile, a bloggers' handbook aimed at helping dissidents in repressive countries avoid detection when they publish on the Internet was released in Paris on Thursday with the support of the French government. The press rights group Reporters without Borders (RSF) said the 86-page book - which is also available at its website - offers "handy tips and technical advice on how to to remain anonymous and to get round censorship, by choosing the most suitable method for each situation."
If you are fed up with the daily media diet of death and destruction, there's a new website to help you. Happynews.com, started three months ago, covers many of the international, national, sports and entertainment stories that the big guys do. But as the name implies, it doesn't cover them the same way. Happynews doesn't do bummers: no death, no destruction, no shocking Lindsay Lohan weight-loss updates. Which is to say, it doesn't do the kinds of stories that have come to define the contemporary concept of "news." Happynews founder and publisher Byron Reese says his website's take on the world may be more representative than what he sees in the newspaper or on TV. "I think the news media should give people an accurate view of reality." "What the media gives us now is not an accurate view. It's distorted. I don't want to sound like a media basher, because I'm not, but news organizations tend to report what people want and what they'll buy.
A "hurried" generation who "don’t know anything about the Bible - or Christianity" - this week received the most condensed paraphrase of the Bible to date. Author Revd Martin Hinton describes his 57-page The 100-minute Bible as "a gateway to the Bible for everybody". The ex-headmaster dedicated two years to writing a single narrative, spanning Genesis to Revelation. "We have sacrificed poetry to clarity", he admitted, in the aim of presenting anyone "in an overwhelmingly secular society … with the story and what Christianity is all about".
