racism

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Cowardice, bigotry and saying whatever it takes

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, July 2nd, 2009 - 77 comments

I’ll be glad to see the back of the Foreshore & Seabed Act. For many on the Left, including myself, its been a monument to Labour’s failure of nerve in the face of a campaign by National to exploit the underlying racism of Pakeha New Zealand for electoral gain. Yes, there was a certain electoral […]

Foreshore review dead-on

Written By: - Date published: 3:16 pm, July 1st, 2009 - 106 comments

The Foreshore and Seabed review panel have reported back with the recommendation that the law be scrapped and people be allowed to attempt to prove ownership rights over the foreshore and seabed in court as they can with any other land. Good. Ever since the Government issued a proclamation in 1872 to stop the Native […]

The real apology

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, May 15th, 2009 - 34 comments

The PM’s office Melissa Lee has released an apology for her ‘crims on the motorway’ comments. Well, not a genuine apology – ‘it was a heated debate’ is the line, which TUMEKE! exposes as a lie and not an excuse anyway. On Red Alert, Trevor Mallard (who is taking to blogging like, um, a duck to […]

The racist tory edition

Written By: - Date published: 10:40 pm, May 14th, 2009 - 91 comments

In his blog, Colin Espiner asked: “But my question is this: National has known for months it was going to torpedo the tunnels. It knew this decision would kill its chances of winning Mt Albert. So why did no one tell Lee? And why did Key allow one of his new stars to stand in […]

Ravi back in the running?

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, May 14th, 2009 - 68 comments

Over at Red Alert, the Labour MPs’ blog, Trevor Mallard points out that nominations for the Mt Albert by-election don’t close until next week. If John Key, as Mallard puts it, “has the balls” he can tell Melissa Lee to stand down and the National selection can be held again. Poor old Ravi Musuku might […]

Lee implodes

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 14th, 2009 - 73 comments

And the ticking timebomb goes off. From Not PC on last night’s Mt Albert candidates’ debate: Most of what every mainstream candidate had to say on the night was both instantly forgettable and intended only for short-term political advantage.  But there was one thing one candidate said that is now going to dog her through the […]

“We have got a problem with Maori”

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, May 12th, 2009 - 86 comments

Now before you start thinking the Standard has started spruiking for the National Front I should make it clear that the title quote of this post comes from Christine Rankin in 2007. She was talking about child abuse and claiming that Maori are the problem. Now, in a move akin to putting Garth McVicar in […]

Dogwhistlin’

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, May 7th, 2009 - 53 comments

Interesting article in the Herald today. It concentrates on a conversation between Melissa Lee and an old racist pharmacist from Mt Albert who won’t vote for her because she’s Asian. It turns out that the Herald has interviewed many reasonable people (most of whom supported Shearer) for this piece. So why spend half the article on what some […]

Israel and Gaza on a Summer Mind

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, April 30th, 2009 - 11 comments

I think I can safely credit Israeli foreign policy with ruining my summer. If you’re the empathetic type it’s hard to go to the beach and swim in the sun while, several thousand miles beneath your feet, people are being killed en masse by people who should know better about how not to treat people […]

Dom hits rock bottom, starts digging

Written By: - Date published: 2:31 pm, April 22nd, 2009 - 14 comments

Ray White, the renowned philosopher from Greytown, had a letter published by the Dominion Post on Monday wherein he says “I think it is great that Auckland Maori are to raise a hikoi in protest at not getting free representation on the new Auckland City Council. They could do with the exercise.” Good grief. I know […]

About time

Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, April 22nd, 2009 - 14 comments

It’s good that Labour has rejoined good leftwing principles over the foreshore and seabed. Labour was spooked by the popularity of National’s race baiting into emulating them. They should never have denied iwi the right to go to court to try to establish their customary rights to sections of the foreshore and seabed. There are […]

Institutional racism

Written By: - Date published: 4:20 pm, February 13th, 2009 - 110 comments

Bruce Emery’s sentence of just four years and three months on a reduced charge of manslaughter for chasing 15 year old Pihema Cameron 300 metres down the street and stabbing him to death with a knife is a stark reminder of the institutional racism that still exists in this country. Let’s not pretend for a […]

X-rated

Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, November 21st, 2008 - 13 comments

There’s a lot of fuss about at the moment over Ayman al-Zawahri’s labelling of Barack Obama as the kind of “house negro” described by Malcolm X. It’s a rather absurd comparison, and in my view probably more a sign of Al-Qaeda’s increasing irrelevance than anything else. But as it turns out, I was listening to […]

National’s ‘redneck element’

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, October 23rd, 2008 - 117 comments

In the heat of the Lockwood Smith controversy yesterday, some of our right-wing readers had a go at John A for posting a link to National’s racist 1975 election ad with the comment that “underneath they haven’t changed”. In light of this, I thought the comments in the Herald today from National’s first Pacific Island […]

Green laffs

Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, October 23rd, 2008 - 7 comments

Russel Norman at Drinking Liberally – Auckland last night on Lockwood Smith: Lockwood may think all Asians have small hands but what we really learned today is that Lockwood’s feet are so small he can fit them in his mouth Classic.

Wait, what’s the RSE?

Written By: - Date published: 3:46 pm, October 22nd, 2008 - 38 comments

OK, we’ve reported on, given historical context to, and mocked Lockwood Smith’s racist comments about seasonal migrant workers. Now, to the substance of what Smith as saying, ie that fewer permits issued under the Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme (RSE) should be allocated to people from the Pacific Islands (because, he says, other people are smaller […]

Nats: instilling the work ethic early

Written By: - Date published: 1:51 pm, October 22nd, 2008 - 34 comments

Lockwood Smith has unveiled more National workforce innovations. In addition to favouring Asian seasonal migrants over Polynesians because their hands are smaller, Smith has announced that National’s plans to have new schools built and owned by private companies will include “co-location of educational and industrial facilities” to “further leverage our most precious asset: our children, […]

Nats on Pacific workers in the 70s

Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, October 22nd, 2008 - 32 comments

Galumalemana Alfred Hunkin says Lockwood Smith’s statements about Pacific workers are an example of the sorts of comments made in the 70s. Here’s a National Party TV ad from the 1975 election about Pacific workers. Underneath they haven’t changed.

Nats letting the facade drop

Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, October 10th, 2008 - 4 comments

We’ve been receiving reports of some appalling statements by National MPs on the campaign trail. They mesh with the arrogance and heartlessness that shines through in the secret agenda tapes. A writer reports on David Bennet’s performance at a forum on mental health policy in Hamilton: Mr Bennett came absolutely unprepared. he had no knowledge […]

When did lying become OK?

Written By: - Date published: 2:40 pm, September 30th, 2008 - 43 comments

On Breakfast this morning, failed National party candidate Paul Henry and Guyon Espiner discussed the possibility of the Maori Party and National working together in a government. Henry: Do you get the feeling National would do anything for power, they would cut almost any deal at all with the Maori Party to get in? Espiner: […]

Nat: our ‘diversity’ is just a gimmick

Written By: - Date published: 11:39 am, August 25th, 2008 - 35 comments

Unless a party has a systematic bias towards one sector of the population, it would be normal to expect that their candidates would represent a cross-section of the community – after all, talented, qualified people can be found in all groups; political aptitude is not just a Pakeha male trait. So, it was kind of […]

Nats: some of us look like youse

Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, August 18th, 2008 - 142 comments

National is desperate for you to know its party list is a diverse one. It’s a diverse list alright. I mean you’ve got a woman at 7, another at 10, yet more at 17 and 20 – you’re talking up to four women in a National Cabinet! And two of them aren’t even Pakeha! OK, all […]

Comparatively, gingers have it easy

Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, June 13th, 2008 - 2 comments

Last month Mike Hucknall, lead singer of Simply Red, asserted that ‘ginger jibes’ were a form of racism. Opinion was divided. As you ponder that one, spare a thought for Tanzanian albinos. The New York Times reports that in the past year at least 19 albinos there have been killed and mutilated – victims of what Tanzanian […]

Clydesdale report rubbished

Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, May 28th, 2008 - 29 comments

Greg Clydesdale’s report that labelled Pacific Islanders a ‘drain on the economy’ has been rubbished as a lazy, intellectually dishonest piece of work by fellow academics. The report concludes that Pacific Islanders make no net contribution to the economy but the substance of the report does not justify that conclusion in the slightest. Moreover, it […]

Lazy academic calls Pacific Island workers lazy

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, May 21st, 2008 - 74 comments

Economist Greg Clydesdale has released a report in which he says Pacific Islanders are a drain on the New Zealand economy (exhibiting “significant and enduring under-achievement” and “that can contribute little to economic growth” in his words). I accept Clydesdale’s cry that he is not a racist. No, he is just a fool who is […]

Campbell grills Peter Brown

Written By: - Date published: 12:22 pm, April 3rd, 2008 - 61 comments

Now this is what Campbell needs to do more of. Last night the man ripped poor old Peter Brown to shreds over his racist comments about Asian immigrants, and it was brutal. You almost had to feel sorry for the guy: