New Zealand Conservative

A controversial Question Two (e) from 2016 Day 2 Level One Algebra Exam - the MCAT Last month’s NCEA Level One Algebra exam hit the news in a big way, with children upset over its difficulty, and teachers and parents outraged that the exam was not reflective of what the students were taught. (See NZQA slammed over ‘far too difficult’ maths exam – students left in tears ) Over the intervening weeks, letters sent to NZQA and to Hekia Parata, and the responses to those letters have been aggregated on this page: 2016 MCAT Feedback . They make for very interesting reading. A number of them contain detailed analyses of the questions that were set at too high a level for NCEA One. A letter has just appeared today that was sent by Rhona Lever to Hekia Parata (PDF link), the lead writer of the controversial Algebra standard, that explains how NZQA and/or the Ministry of Education are out of control and seeking to impose their own curriculum ideas outside of the normal processes when it ...

Russian embassy uses Nice attack to slam NATO "Terrorist attack in Nice - another wake up call to join efforts in fighting real threat, not NATO-devised phantoms," said the Russian Embassy in Canada Friday morning. This terrorist attack in France occurred just days after the NATO conference in Warsaw, Poland: Warsaw: A Very Big Deal So it's a whole new NATO. Despite Brexit and despite lingering divisions over whether to confront or engage Russia, the transatlantic alliance took some big steps forward at a landmark summit this week in Warsaw. "We face a serious problem in a revanchist Kremlin and this summit has done an excellent job of addressing it," John Herbst, director of the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council and a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, said during a panel discussion at the Warsaw Summit Experts' Forum. By agreeing to deploy multinational military forces to the Baltic states and eastern Poland, NATO has moved fr...

I watched a very good film yesterday online, called Desire of the Everlasting Hills . It is about three people with homosexual desire and their journey to (or back to) the Catholic Church. It is well worth watching. Here is a brief synopsis - Here are three intimate and candid portraits of Catholics who try to navigate the waters of self-understanding, faith, and homosexuality: Dan, a gregarious artist who spent his life hiding a deep sense of isolation from those who loved him; Rilene, a successful businesswoman who realized that twenty-five years with her partner did not provide the fulfillment she had hoped for; and Paul, an international model who, after a life of self-indulgence, found grace in the last place he expected. Desire of the Everlasting Hills

I notice That Brian Eno has written an article for the left-leaning Salon criticizing Israel's part in a "swag bag" of gifts given to Oscar nominees. (A five-star luxury trip to Israel for every nominee in the main acting and directing categories. The trip is sponsored by the Israeli government.). He takes a swing at Israel using the usual tropes and arguments. I thought I'd reply in the comment section of the article, but for some reason my comments do not show up (Wonder why, ey?). So I am reprinting my response below.  I'm sorry Brian, but your article is coming from a place of ignorance. Let me just touch on a few points. You say that Israel is a great country "for at least half of its inhabitants". Actually, unlike pretty much every other country in the Middle East, everyone in Israel has the same rights, be they male or female, gay or straight, Jew or Christian or Muslim. Arabs even serve in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Isreal is an...

When a society does not value truth, it follows that immorality becomes the norm, and the values that holds society together - trust, honesty, respect and integrity disappear. There are many stories reflecting my concern. Recently, the complete misreporting of Susan Devoy's comments about Christmas was compounded by the media who, on the same pages as they corrected the mis-reporting, were still posting opinion pieces of outrage from their own reporters, pretending the truth didn't matter.  Why waste a story, even if built on lies? This post I came across, where the US Federal Court maintains wearing war medals never earned, expressly worn to misrepresent a persons history, is just another form of free speech. Essentially, they maintain intent to deliberately lie or commit fraud is free speech. These judges have forgotten that free speech only exists in a society that values truth, because free speech should be a counter to poisonous ideas, lies and the misuse of power...