Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Changing the World One Blog at a Time

Today has been Blog Action Day - bloggers all over the world devoting their posts to the issue of poverty.

I’m going to cheat on this one and re-post an article I posted after the last New Zealand General Election in 2005. We’re now three weeks away from the next election my Kiwi friends and it’s time to think seriously about who you’re going to vote for. Please make educated votes and think about others at this election.  So here goes my lobbying attempt:

[Written in October 2005] 

I have been wanted to write this since the election and finally now seems right.

But before I do, I want you to take one minute of your time to say a prayer to whoever you believe in, for the familes and friends of the thousands of people that died in Pakistan and Guatemala in the past couple of days. While you’re at it, consider the families of those that didn’t make it out of New Orleans, those who will never forget July 7, and those who died in the Asian Tsunami last December. Finally spare one thought for those 20,000 people that die from the effects of living in extreme poverty (7,500 young adults die of AIDS, up to 8,000 children perish from malaria, 5,000 parents die of tuberculosis, and thousands more are killed by diseases that attack bodies weakened by chronic hunger and malnutrition). It’s a fragile world.

Now I’m going to use this to fuel an angry rant, and I’m sorry if using this as a springboard offends anyone but it’s important . . . so important that peoples lives depend on it.

So we just had an election here in New Zealand, and 80% of the country voted. I know a whole heap of people who voted specific parties for great reasons, they truly believed in a party’s vision or they offered a range of policies that these people saw as important. Unfortunately, I’ve also met many more people who voted one party for a terrible reason. So you wanted to change the government and you thought ‘National’s the only way to do that and taxcuts would be good too’, so you ticked that box and went on your merry way. Or you voted Labour just ’cause they’ll cut interest on student loans”. If you voted for a party for some pathetic reason like this, then I’m sorry but you suck!! This rant is for you:

Today, we emptied our disaster relief budget, it’s all gone now because there’s been quite a few disasters lately (have you bothered to notice?) and it wasn’t the biggest budget either. Every year 0.26ish% of our Gross National Income is given to ALL aid. A very small part of that goes on giving some assistance to countries who are recovering from a natural disaster, like Pakistan and Guatemala currently. The Government pledged to give 0.7% to aid, 0.26% isn’t even half of that. We’ve run out of money to give to help countries that need help in disasters. Is this not more important than the interest on your student loan? A number of parties pledged to keep pushing the government to increase its aid volume, Greens and United Future were just two of those. But instead of thinking about what the world needs, you thought about you on election day. Maybe you considered your family for a brief second, and then went with what suited you best. Think silly people! Actually know who you are voting for, and consider making up your mind on something other than a bribe. New Zealand plays a crucial role internationally, and even though it’s a world away from here to there, they’re just as important as you.

For those voters who actually thought unselfishly this election - you are truly fantastic people. We need more of you.

If a typhoon hit a Pacific island tomorrow, there’d be no more aid to give them. How much would their lives mean to you?

For more information on the 2008 Election and international development, go to Oxfam NZ’s website.

Posted by Fi McKenzie at 22:19:31 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, September 29, 2008

Indeed

“A Bloomberg survey found that 55% of Americans thought the government should not bail out private companies with taxpayers’ money even if their collapse could damage the economy, while only 31% thought it should. A Pew poll found pretty much the opposite. It all depends on how you ask the question.” (The Economist, ‘The Candidates Intervene’, 27/09-03/10 2008, p.58).

Indeed.

Posted by Fi McKenzie at 13:41:28 | Permalink | No Comments »

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Your chance to vote

Brought to you by the letters “E-C-O-N-O-M-I-S-T-.-C-O-M”

Here’s a bit of fun for your Sundays - play a bit of politics and vote in the upcoming US Election. While your vote will be completely meaningless, the good people at the Economist have been good enough to create an electoral college system for the whole world so you can be assured that it’s very fair (or as fair as the electoral system is). The hypothesis is that if the world was in charge of voting the next man in, it’d be Barack Obama.

Give it a go - you might have to register but it’s free and really quick and easy - it’s the closest many of us will come to a US ballot.

You can make your choice at www.economist.com/vote2008 - go now!
Posted by Fi McKenzie at 23:51:23 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Friday, September 26, 2008

Call to Prayer

“Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.” (Ghandi)

From my Pastorate leader Rohan:


Please keep India, its’ believers, all those serving God there today, in special prayer. 

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!
Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India

We have never seen anything like this.

We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work.

A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and ‘reconverting’ people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. 

Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up…’Kill the Christians!’ 

And the horror began….
 
In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ. 

Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News  India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa… they are right in the middle of all this chaos.

In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and ‘finish the job.’ Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer. More police have come to offer protection. 

In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. 

In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore. 

All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill.
 
Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in a house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road…. even women and children. 

At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: ‘We stay with our kids…. we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.’


More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue for another 10 days…. supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. 

The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times.

Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved… that is our heart’s cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission. 
 
What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. 

The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations….

Posted by Fi McKenzie at 12:48:32 | Permalink | No Comments »

A tribute to some fine politicians

Some of my favourite NZ politicians are stepping down as MPs and have given valedictory speeches over the past few days. They have done more and tried harder than the average Kiwi gives them credit for and it is sad to see them go. 


It is with particular sadness that we note the, as always very sad, death of Brian Donnelly, who I remember as a funny man with a good sense of humour and always willing to sit down and discuss the real issues across the parties. He worked hard and was, I am sure, a fine High Commissioner in his final years.

Here are some of the final comments made by some of my favourite MPs:


Mark Gosche (for clarification - his wife requires 24 hours care following a brain haemorrage in 2002 and his son committed suicide last year) - ”I would forego a thousand tax cuts if I were able to access the treatment and services that Carol needs, and would receive if she were covered by ACC…I ask on behalf of hundreds of families like ours that efforts continue to reduce our suicide rate and to find answers so we can avoid the grief…This insane idea that we must all be available to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, has ruined family life for many.”

Marian Hobbs (she was incredibly good to me and an amazing person to learn from) - ”Politics is about making decisions, be it the laws we pass or the budgets we approve…But modern news media doesn’t evaluate our decisions in the light of which policy is best…Instead they build a web around personalities and behaviour. It’s about a smiley new face versus the one we are familiar with. The news is about decision makers, rarely about decisions.”


Tim Barnett (gave me very useful advice on LSE and living in London) - ”I’ve long ascribed to the advice that if you’re going to invite a tiger to lunch, there’s little point in pouring the sauce over yourself.” (On the Media)


Mark Blumsky (we had our run-ins on the campaign but he’s a good guy with a real, and very deep, passion for Wellington) - ”The `them and us’ feeling is stronger than I had suspected…neither of us can be exactly right and I think we sometimes miss out on the real solutions.”


Katherine Rich (an MP I respect and admire for having done and continue doing what she believes in) - ”Kiwi music brings us together as one of the glues to our society. The market will never support local music sufficiently, given the size of our country…Demotion [in 2005 under Brash] clearly wasn’t a career highlight but it was preferable than trying to explain why I, a well-paid mother with all the supports in the world, intended telling a DPB (domestic purposes benefit) mum to leave her baby in childcare to net less than half the minimum wage.”


And finally, at least for now, my old local MP, who might have had something to do with my interest in politics and the Labour party. Steve Maharey (part-time Robbie Williams impersonator) - ”Fairness and equal opportunity have long been part of the New Zealand political tradition and it led to governments putting in place institutions that made a practical difference to people like me…Members will have their own goals. Make them bold. The mistakes of the 1980s and 1990s have left an legacy of understandable caution in politics…The current economic crisis reinforces this stance. But in the midst of new times, the spectre of the past should not be allowed to get in the way of a vision for the future.”


These people, and many others that aren’t quite ready to leave yet, have shaped my perception of the way the world works and I am thankful for their insight. They might not have been perfect but they fought for things they believed in and did so in the unkind and difficult environment that is national politics. I greatly respect them and wish all the very best in their future careers and lives. 
Posted by Fi McKenzie at 00:21:50 | Permalink | No Comments »

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Drinks and the New York Philharmonic

I’m feeling more like myself tonight, helped by a day working at home and an evening spent at the pub with Jess catching up on life, love and all things. Work’s website needed attending to, one of my many “fascinating” tasks, and that was followed by 50 lengths of the pool (my current average), a dip in the spa pool and a few minutes in the steam room. Steam rooms are very hot.

We tried the Marlborough Arms, just off Tottenham Court Rd, tonight and I’m pleased to say it was a great success. A large pub with a newly refurbished interior, it had a large variety of drinks and we had no problem finding a table despite it being fairly full. Staff were lovely and the prices weren’t bad either so all in all a great other local.

Tomorrow I am off to see the New York Philharmonic play Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F Major and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Proms season. I *LOVE* the Proms and firmly believe that this is one of the best British/London institutions. M(attias), my Swedish flatmate, and I will pay 5 pounds (that’s two to three cups of coffee here) for this pleasure and that’s a bargain if ever I heard one. Beautiful music in an amazing venue, what more could I ask for?

In other news, I am a tad worried about the ever-more-concerning issues in the Caucasus and in particular Russia’s involvement. We live in “interesting” times. And lastly I’m outting myself as an Obama supporter, I was never really a Clinton fan at all, and it’s fascinating to watch the changing face of US politics through this campaign. But bed calls for now . . .

Posted by Fi McKenzie at 23:38:46 | Permalink | No Comments »

Friday, May 2, 2008

I voted for Ken

I’m in a bad mood. It’s been a long and awful week and now everything points to a new London Mayor by the name of Boris. Grrrrr . . .

There is now almost 100,000 votes between Ken and Boris and almost all my hopes are gone. I had to think a bit about my vote for this election because Boris seemed like a good guy with some actual charisma and he rides a bike, which proves some level of insanity. But that’s why I’m not so happy with him - I think he might be all spark and no actual usefulness and when it comes down to it the leftie roots in me trust Ken more than I trust Boris to deliver on the social things that this city so desperately needs.

I guess, in the end, I won’t actually leave the country because of any new Mayor, desite his political hue but today has made me rather disappointed in the British public - who are all these people that vote BNP and why do they do it?

End of rant . . .

Posted by Fi McKenzie at 23:25:37 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Media freedom in Fiji

More about this later when I get home but I’m outraged at the continuing insanity in Fiji. The latest being the shutdown of freedom of speech.

“Over the past year some media reporting have left much to be desired and some reports have been careless, irresponsible and some in fact have been inciteful and destabilizing, posing a threat to national security and stability,” Bainimarama said.

They were intent on “sowing discontent and discord in name of media freedom”. He demanded that media abide by a code of ethics and stop their “confrontational and negative” reporting.

The website of the top circulation daily, The Fiji Times, reports police and immigration officials have taken their publisher, Australian citizen Evan Hannah, from his home in the Suva suburb of Tamavua.

This is our backyard and it’s falling apart. I’ll explain more later and discuss some of the other problems but this just makes me outraged that the whole thing is continuing.

Posted by Fi McKenzie at 11:11:34 | Permalink | No Comments »

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Musings

I love how music makes me muse on life, the places I’ve been and the things I’ve done. Photos have the same effect but not to the same degree - a good piece of music can transport me from one side of the world to years past in the other hemisphere. How very poetic!

It’s three years since I announced I was running for Parliament, three years since the way I thought and acted changed dramatically. Watching candidates get nominated and excited from this side of the world, while London prepares to elect its mayor, is making me want to be back in it, I miss the adrenaline rush of the campaign and the way I felt both incredibly small and silly and on top of the world at the same time. I never ever thought I’d say this but maybe I want to do it again sometime. It nearly took it all out of me last time but the last three years have also changed my perspective on the importance of politics.

I’ve always said the most annoying thing about politics is that it’s only very loosely based in reality. Life in Parliament is its own little world and that frustrated me. I have learned, however, that very little of life is actually based in reality (whatever reality is). My job at the Church is very much based in a church-reality, the things I do in London are based on a view of the world that takes it in from a London-perspective. I know that friends in NGOs get annoyed at the loose-sense of reality in their perspective . . . so is there actually any real reality and is politics and Parliament really that bad. I’d certainly love to be back in a Parliamentary setting because there’s something so thriving about the atmosphere working for States.

Time to stop musing and start blogging about non-me stuff . . .

Posted by Fi McKenzie at 22:10:06 | Permalink | No Comments »

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Government spending

Mark has questioned the spending of $34 million on Team New Zealand, saying it should have been spent on health or education. It got me thinking because while I agree in principle, it seemed a tad more complex than that. Here’s my thinking on it . . .

It is possible for states to spend their entire budget on health and/or education and still not get it right by a long stretch. In the NZ health budget, $34 million would add only 0.0032% to the total, while in the education budget it adds 0.0059%. Such a small amount in relation to the total makes it incredibly difficult to spend effectively and in the right places for the majority.

When making decisions on budget allocations, it’s about maximising welfare and ensuring effective spending. While I agree NZAID could really have done a lot with that $34 million, it appears a huge number of New Zealanders all over the world were keen enough on watching the America’s Cup and seeing us do well that a government injection of cash would benefit the “happiness” of Kiwis worldwide. I know from watching the AC website that there were Kiwis everywhere sending in messages of support. We’re a sporting nation, whether we like it or not, and this event is the oldest active trophy in international sport. We’re a sailing nation and we need to show young sailors that there is something to aspire to.

I guess what I’m saying is that in some ways this was a smart move for a Government that wants to invest in something we do well in (we won the Louis Vuitton Cup after all), in nationalism, and in providing something to aspire to for New Zealand’s young sailors. One can always say “the money should have been spent in x and y”, but it’s more difficult in this case to say that the money could have been spent more effectively in x and y.

Posted by Fi McKenzie at 10:52:58 | Permalink | Comments (5)