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Do we have a politics thread to discuss things political?

That is just making loud noises to get attention - you know how that works
I am very rarely serious here (with some exceptions), and may have changed my mind with the wind - ie I don't tell people on forums much for they tend to stalk and do weird stuff
 
Speaking of feminism..........watching this NOW, good history of women's movement

Soundtracks: Songs That Defined History

'Battle Of The Sexes'

SBS, 9:20pm, Sun, 24 Sep 2017, 50 minutes

ON NOW

The famous tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs was a galvanising moment for the women's movement. Billie Jean's win was an affirmation to all the women who felt underestimated as simply mothers and housewives. The music of the 1960s and '70s, from Helen Reddy to Leslie Gore to Aretha Franklin was also a kind of subversive force in delivering to women messages of strength and empowerment. The sexual revolution ushered in more provocative music that gave women permission to let loose; Loretta Lynn's 'The Pill' was an outright ode to the wonders of contraception and how freeing it was. Feminism in music has taken many forms, just as the women's movement itself has waxed and waned over the decades. But from Pat Benatar to Salt-n-Pepa to Katy Perry, each generation of young women has found strength and solidarity in female artists who have literally given them a voice.



Series, United States, English, Documentary, Arts & Culture, Music
 
LOL
Literally, lots of great songs, like Respect, Aretha; and quite a few I never thought of as anything more than just pop songs
 
Julie Bishop talks about sexism in politics.....

Julie Bishop says she was ignored in Abbott’s cabinet because she’s a woman
JULIE Bishop is one of the most powerful women in Australia, and yet even she’s experienced what many other women face every day.

HAVE you ever been in a meeting and thrown out what you thought was a particularly brilliant idea, only to have it entirely ignored? To add insult to injury did the bloke sitting across from you then offer up that very same idea moments later, to rapturous praise?

As it turns out, so has Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

Speaking at the Women’s Weekly Women of the Future event in Sydney yesterday, Ms Bishop reflected on her experience being the only woman in the Abbott Government’s cabinet.

“It was pretty lonely. I would be sitting in a cabinet with 19 men and me,” she told the room. Bishop explained that she’d put forward a new policy or initiative and then? “Nothing. Halfway around the room, a guy will say exactly what I said. Exactly my idea, exactly my initiative, and the others will say ‘Brilliant, what a genius idea’.”

Bishop described the approach of her fellow cabinet members as a kind of unconscious bias, “almost a deafness” to her contribution. Keep in mind we’re talking here about the deputy leader of the Liberal Party, the nation’s first female foreign minister and the only senior politician to retain a leadership role for the entirety of this last turbulent decade in Australian politics.

So how is it possible that someone of Julie Bishop’s standing and achievements is being ignored, interrupted and talked over in meetings? And if it’s happening to her, what hope is there for the rest of us?
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Winking wanker

The problem, as Bishop herself identified yesterday, is one of unconscious bias. Human beings listen differently depending on who is talking. When we hear various accents or tones of voice or pace of speaking, our brain makes a judgment about the legitimacy and value of what the speaker is saying based on those characteristics. Often the way something is said inhibits our ability to properly consider the substance of the statement.

In the workplace context this can be particularly problematic. That’s because women are still few and far between in the rooms where decisions are made and culture is shaped. This has led to an unconscious assumption — on the part of women and men — that powerful new ideas and strategies are conveyed in a masculine tone of voice. It means we don’t respond as well to those ideas when women present them.

The result is that meetings will routinely ignore or overlook the contribution of women, especially in rooms where women are in the minority. Indeed, one 2014 study of the tech industry showed men were twice as likely to interrupt people than women were and almost three times as likely to interrupt a woman than another man. Meghan Sumner from Standford University has found that “even when a certain female voice is deemed trustworthy, clear, and comprehensible, her voice receives lower ratings when [it’s compared] with a man’s voice”.
But if this behaviour is all unconscious, if human beings do it without even realising, how do we solve the problem?

For women and men, it begins with recognising that the bias exists in the first place and taking the time to reassess your own behaviour. Remember that sexism isn’t the exclusive domain of men. Women suffer from the same unconscious biases that mean they tend to see other women’s contributions as less important. Women may also internalise this bias and start to think their own contribution isn’t worthy of note.

There’s also another strategy for dealing with the problem that Julie Bishop herself has employed to great effect. It’s called ‘Shine Theory’ and it involves women working together to ensure that their voices are heard and that their opinions or ideas are awarded the weight they deserve.

Once Tony Abbott was deposed, the then-new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appointed several more women to the ministry. This meant that Julie Bishop had female colleagues sitting next to her at the cabinet table and they made a deliberate effort to back in one another’s contribution. Every time one of them made a particularly significant point in a meeting, one of the others would reaffirm it, paying credit to the woman whose idea it was. Then another would reinforce the point again, backing her female colleague.

The point would be repeated, rephrased and its original source noted until eventually the group acknowledged it. Bishop joked yesterday “it didn’t matter what the other woman said, the others would go, ‘OMG that is brilliant, did you hear that?’ ”

They became far more powerful together than they ever could have been alone.

Bishop’s experience flies in the face of old-fashioned stereotypes that women are ‘their own worst enemies’ at work. She proves that women can be one another’s greatest allies and supporters in a workplace culture that too often overlooks and undervalues them. Julie Bishop may not call herself a feminist but she sure sounds like she’s living its principles every day of the week — and good on her.

Jamila Rizvi is an author, presenter and regular columnist for news.com.au. Her best-selling book, Not Just Lucky is published by Penguin Random House and is available to purchase now.
 
Time for a REPUBLIC.......

Queen made ‘scandalous’ intervention in Aussie politics, says researcher
THE monarch sent an envoy to Australia to meet senior figures at one of the most critical moments in politics, it has emerged in “volcanic” new evidence.

“There’s no doubt of her intervention ... The documents point consistently to British involvement

THE Queen may have played a significant role in the biggest political crisis Australian history, a researcher has discovered, after unearthing “volcanic” new evidence around the 1975 dismissal.

An envoy for the monarch flew out to Canberra to meet Liberal powerbrokers just a month before the sensational dismissal of Gough Whitlam government, Monash University researcher Jenny Hocking found.

The historian told news.com.au the revelation was “extraordinarily significant”, showing the head of state meddling in Australian politics, and leading to the “scandalous outcome” of a democratically elected government losing power.

Professor Hocking uncovered records of the Australian visit by Foreign and Commonwealth Office undersecretary Sir Michael Palliser, and later conversations relating to the Queen’s position.

The findings from these documents held in the British archives are included in the latest edition of her book, The Dismissal Dossier — but some remain redacted.
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“They’re discussing the prospect of intervention in Australian politics, they’re discussing how serious it is, how egregious it is,” said Prof Hocking. “They’re volcanic.

“There’s no doubt of her intervention ... The documents point consistently to British involvement.

“This is why we’re calling for an inquiry into British intervention in Australian politics at this time. We need to know, we need to have access to all the documents.”

Palliser met with Governor-General Sir John Kerr and British High Commissioner Sir Morrice James during his trip Down Under in October 1975, at a critical moment for Australia’s future.


The country was in crisis at the time, with the Liberal Party using its control of the Senate to delay the passage of “appropriation bills” that would authorise spending and enable the Labor government to function.

On November 11, Whitlam approached Kerr to gain his approval for a half-Senate election to resolve the impasse. But the Governor-General instead controversially dismissed the Prime Minister and replaced him with Liberal leader Malcolm Fraser.

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http://www.news.com.au/national/pol...r/news-story/802395e0c326e5dd45d9748fc70a49eb
 
Jacinda will be the new prime minister in New Zealand with the left forming a coalition.
 
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he did though. he was ruining Australia. john kerr did the right thing. i don't understand labor and their worship of gough. Hawke was a much better pm.
 
Jacinda Ardern becomes New Zealand's next prime minister after Winston Peters backs Labour
New Zealand kingmaker Winston Peters has decided the country's next prime minister will be Labour's Jacinda Ardern.

After more than three weeks of waiting, the New Zealand First leader announced his decision on Thursday.

Ms Ardern revealed she found out she was the new leader at the same time as the rest of New Zealand and described leadership talks as 'robust'.


"I feel extraordinary honoured and privileged to be in the position to form a coalition government with New Zealand First," she said after Mr Winston made his announcement on Thursday.

"Labour has always believed that government should always be a partner for ensuring an economy that works for all New Zealand... that looks after its environment and ultimately looks after its people."

"I believe Labour has found a true partner to deliver on that."

The incumbent leader also thanked her rival, Bill English, for his service as prime minister and previously finance minister.

Ms Ardern said Mr English was an "absolute example" of a politician who came into office with the intention to 'serve their country as best as they can".

Mr Winston said what swayed his decision was hearing from voters that the current leadership was "simply out of touch" with New Zealanders.

"We believe that capitalism must regain its human face. That perception has deeply influenced New Zealand First's negotiations," the New Zealand First leader said.

"We had a choice to make with either National or Labour for a modified status quo or for change.

"In our negotiations, both National and Labour were presented with that opportunity, working together, corroborating together for New Zealand.

"That's why in the end we chose a coalition government of New Zealand First and New Zealand Labour Party."

Mr Winston praised Ms Ardern who inspired and roused Labour supporters into a fever dubbed as 'Jacindamania'.

"She exhibited extraordinary talent in the campaign itself from a very hopeless position," he said.

Australia's Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was quick to offer his congratulations to the new prime minister.

"Jacinda brought extraordinary energy to the Labour leadership and campaigned passionately for inclusive, progressive policies, founded on universal Labor values," he said in a statement.

"In electing their third woman to serve as prime minister, New Zealanders have again provided an inspiration for women and girls around the world.

"More than a century after the first Anzacs fought and fell together, Australia and New Zealand’s friendship is stronger than ever.

"My team and I look forward to building and strengthening the connection between our two nations – and I trust the government shares this commitment."

Meanwhile Senator Penny Wong has also congratulated Ms Ardern on her success.

"Labor also thanks outgoing Prime Minister Bill English for his contribution to the strong and warm ties between our two nations," she said.

"The Turnbull Government must now take immediate action to rebuild relations with the incoming New Zealand Government following the Foreign Minister’s attack on Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party.

"In an attempt to divert attention from the citizenship crisis surrounding Barnaby Joyce, the Foreign Minister publicly declared she would not trust a future New Zealand Labour Government."

While Labour and the Greens have to formally approve the coalition, Ms Ardern will become New Zealand's youngest leader since 1856 and only the third female prime minister of the nation of 4.6 million.

The result will be a bitter blow to outgoing conservative Prime Minister Bill English, who ran an unexpectedly strong campaign to win 44.4 percent of the vote, far higher than Labour's 36 percent.

Ms Ardern is 37 years old and has only led the party since August.

She was elected to parliament in 2008 and joined the Labour Party aged 17.

Ms Ardern worked for former Labour leader Phil Goff's office and credits former prime minister Helen Clark for inspiring her during her three years in the UK as a public servant in the Cabinet Office, and the Department for Business and Enterprise.

The daughter of a veteran New Zealand police officer, she served as an assistant director for the department where she worked on regulatory issues.

Ms Ardern has not yet spoken on her election

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/...ands-next-prime-minister-after-winston-peters
 
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