“When you think about him as politician and his both intellect and EQ [emotional intelligence], he is a complete package so it is hard to go past him in terms of his style and the way he does things.”
“He is not an academic but he is intellectual,” says Bridges”
“He also makes special mention of Attorney-General Chris Finlayson, Trade Minister Tim Groser, and former Justice Minister Simon Power”
Glad this was picked up by Muzza- my heart sank too. Poor Simon Bridges, to consider Key to be the “complete article” one has to wonder at the merit and mental and moral fibre of this new minister. Hard to respect a person who speaks so adoringly (and blindly) about Key.
Describing someone as a “complete article” dehumanises them and allows you to interact with them in ways that a description such as “a person with a consistent, coherent point of view” does not allow.
“intellectual” is also pretty loaded, in the NZ context – inviting just the reponse you give.
I reckon it’s all a put down.
Bridges comes across as an attention seeking young man without strong views on how to achieve social justice.
Robin Duff said, in the PPTA News, the teachers’ union could not continue to be “complicit in this conspiracy of silence” that concealed the level of violence within schools.
The culture of violence in schools is another part of a widespread problem embedded in our society. Schools, like families and other groups in society need to confront this, not keep it secret.
Pat Walsh, Secondary Principals’ Association President, said “he had not seen any evidence of a conspiracy of silence, nor was he aware of principals banning teachers from reporting assaults to police.”
We should at least find out, serious claims have been made.
I think the Standard should have a rule against linkwhoring. If you linkwhore three days in a row the key gets thrown away and your laptop gets crushed.
[ The policy allows it within certain parameters: ” You can link to your own site provided it isn’t excessive, explains why you think it should be read (so people can decide not to go there without clicking into it), is short, and you either do it in OpenMike or within the context of the post or surrounding comments.”…RL]
Do you not think that suppressing stories of violence in schools is important?
Ah, you’re trying to divert from it here. Are you trying to continue the conspiracy of silence on violence? I guess trying to score a political hit beats violence.
savagemicky, if you actually read what’s there rather than resorting to repeat pitifil pinpricking you would see that it was Robin Duff who said the teachers’ union could not continue to be “complicit in this conspiracy of silence”. He used a cliche to try and raise attention, but isn’t what he says a concern?
You seem to be more intent on attacking people than discussing issues that are raised.
It would be good if posters were to indicate any links in their post that lead to their own blog rather than to material directly related to the subject at hand. T’would be easy to do.
You’d think some of the worst offenders actually want unwitting readers to be tricked into going where they don’t want to go….
Well. It does save typing out again, when you have already addressed that issue on your own blog.
I do not like those who put a placeholder instead of the entire link. I get really pissed off when I am unknowingly directed to Kiwibog, or PG, for example. I can only take so much bullshit at a time.
Robin Duff said, in the PPTA News, the teachers’ union could not continue to be “complicit in this conspiracy of silence” that concealed the level of violence within schools.
Sure, because it is in teachers’ interests to keep quiet when it is they who often become the victims of violence against themselves or their property.
Dear Pete George, your website is garish… particularly the multicoloured Your NZ logo. Could you possibly redesign the logo or not link to it on Saturday or Sunday, when people are likely recovering from a late night and technicolour of any kind is not welcome?
BTW You swap from accusing Eddie of making unsubstantiated claims to accusing the reader in your Wilted with wolf wail wantonness post… whatever that means? This is a sure way of turning people off reading your blog, presuming anybody gets past the graphic issues that is.
There should be a minimum design standard which your blogsite is obviously not attaining PG.
This and the article on truancy further on in the SST are just more evidence of the medias push to portray the negative stories about education in NZ, especially at a time when performance pay, suppossed poor teaching and charter schools are being so prominently pushed by certain factions. Implicit in these articles are the thinly veiled attacks on teachers and how the onus is entirely on them to solve the problems. Witness the students in the truancy article talking about turning up to school stoned and saying school was boring or Parata saying teachers had to provide engaging programmes. Where’s the talk about what students and their families should be bringing to to the table. Education is a partnership but unfortunately at the moment media and political comment sees it as a one way street with the everything stacked against teachers.
And the point Duff made is schools may be trying to hide negative stories. That’s a serious complaint from within the school system.
Which means you must think that parents are complicit too. And Boards of Trustees. And principles. And general staff.
A real conspiracy theory you got going there.
I do notice however that you primarily blame the “teachers union” though. How do you think they manage to keep all these other parties quiet? Probably intimidation tactics right? After all, unions always use intimidation tactics right?
While not entirely disagreeing with you on this when did you last read something positive about education in NZ. Both SST articles focussed on the negative. As a teacher it seems to me that there is a concerted effort by some to portray education in a negative light as much as possible so as to influence public perception and thus making it easier for this government to make the changes they want in education.
This is a common problem – doing things right is just expected, it’s not newsworthy.
The media is naturally attracted to negatives, mistakes, scandals, problems and complaints. That’s why you won’t see balancing articles like “most teachers helped most students achieve well”.
As someone who went to NPBHS in the 70’s it seems to be that bullying has significantly decreased in schools.
What was acceptable then would in no way be condoned now.
Let me list the ways that I and others were bullied at school:
1. Being physically beaten up before breakfast by the fullback of the first fifteen many mornings before breakfast
2. Hauled out of bed and made to have cold showers in the middle of the night
3. Having to wash the rugby gear, by hand, of the boarders in the first XV – we got good at using toothpaste on the white stripes
4. Being made to stand in the middle of the field and used as tackle bags
5. Being made to fight other students for the pleasure of the prefects
6. Being caned by the prefects
7. Being made to smoke by the prefects ( I never did hence incurring more beatings)
8. Being made to run errands for the prefects such as constantly going to the dairy down the hill to buy one cents worth of jelly beans – if you were not quick enough you got a clout
9. Being sent to the teacher at prep time to be caned for no reason – and the teachers indulging and complicit in this
10. Being made to write such engaging essays as the sex life of a ping -pong ball
11. Having to site in a seated position without a chair and an upright compass (mathematical with a point) below you backside – trust me landing on this hurts
12. Being beaten up again for no reason
13. Having to hold hand upright with fingers and thumb touching while a ruler edge was forcibly applied to your fingertips
14. Being “dubbin”ed and “nugget”ed and deep heated on your private parts
15. Being hung from a tree and spray painted orange
16. Having eyebrows shaved off
17. Having to float on the swimming pool so you could be dive bombed by the prefects
18. Dorm raids in the middle of the night which were just another excuse to beat up on the weakest
19. Having to learn the names of the first XV, the All Blacks and the Taranaki rugby team – in that order – and again being hit if you got it wrong.
These are the ones that immediately spring to mind.
It’s not character building and in my experience it’s often those that were bullied who have problems later in life – particularly with violence. The bullies seem to be able to move on much more easily.
One woman I know has two sons in jail for murder who went to another boarding school. It’s only now in prison they talk about what happened to them when they were there. They went from being two quiet lovely kids at 13 to having significant issues in life when they were older.
There were some good aspects to going to NPBHS (and some very good teachers, history and biology in particular, but the bullying and the violence that I and others experienced will forever tarnish our view of that school.
The thing I notice in this country is that people are quick to jump on the band wagon when it’s Maori school involved but there seems to be much more of a cover up when the school is supposed to have a “reputation”.
I copped it mainly at primary school; fortunately by the time I was at secondary school I had grown tall enough not to be an obvious target anymore. But it left it’s mark alright. Not something often talked about because of the stigma and shame attached to it.
These days I tend to over-react if I feel someone is putting one over on me. It only happens briefly and occasionally, but I’ve learned that if you don’t look like a soft target they’ll move onto someone else. But it’s not a comfortable place to be.
And looking at that list…. shit it’s way worse that anything I encountered. I get the impression it was worse in the provinces than at the big city schools, althought that’s just a guess.
It is definitely a lot less tolerated in public schools than it was 40 years ago.
When I found that the way to avoid being bullied, my parents shifted around a lot for work reasons, was to pick a fight with the biggest and toughest looking boy in the new school. Didn’t matter if you won or lost, no-one else would take you on after that.
I get a distinct impression that, in many private schools, and some schools that claim to be “traditional” boys schools, bullying is, still, often tacitly encouraged as a means of ensuring conformity and discipline.
My memories of school are very narrow, one small rural school and one hear at a larger city school, and I was lucky to not experience a bullying environment. And my kids have all left school so I’m not in touch with how it is at the moment – I’m sure it varies a lot.
But I take notice if Robin Duff says there’s a problem.He should know something about it.
‘… but I’ve learned that if you don’t look like a soft target they’ll move onto someone else. But it’s not a comfortable place to be.’
Totally get lack of comfort thing RL – same thing goes on in the work place and quite often the bully is showing a bit of front which if you rebuff with something like “that’s a nasty/racist/… thing to do/ say” they are often totally embarrased. Recently heard about a bloke at my work who in the past cracked a joke whilst someone was having a seizure about it being a shame he didn’t have his laundry with him – this while being within earshot of the person having the seizure and no one took him to task – unfuckingbelieveable – sometimes people have to speak out about injustice and get uncomfortable.
I copped it mainly at primary school; fortunately by the time I was at secondary school I had grown tall enough not to be an obvious target anymore.
In my case, it was primary and Intermediate, and verbal not physical and I don’t want to go into much detail (I did once, and QoT has never forgiven me for telling the truth.)
We (my sisters and I) committed 3 crimes – we were English in Rotorua in the 60s, we were working class and in the higher streams (well, I was in the higher streams) and we were brighter than the bullies. I used ‘big words’.
When at high school, an older girl made me the butt of her jokes, and called me “ostentatiously puerile” I was made up – her insults were clever, and in one or two instances merited. Because I responded in kind, we became friends.
Shit DOS, props to you for surviving – it sounds worse than some of the stuff I’ve read about English public schools.
I went to a private girls’ school and got bullied because I wanted to do my work, was tall, very slender and couldn’t be arsed teasing and tormenting other people. Since having kids, one with ADHD who gets bullied I’m a complete wolverine and the school dreads an email or phone call from me but I will not let my kid be teased unmercifully and don’t give a rat’s arse if the faculty don’t like it. Thankfully this year there are two wonderful women in the maths area who have brought the tormentors to task with some really interesting detentions – I’m sure it helps that one is HOD and married to a man with Asperger’s and the 2IC who has a finely honed sense of justice.
Once read:
The mill of God grinds slow but grinds exceeding small.
Maybe some of your former tormentors have been through the mill.
I was at NPBHS during the early 2000s and can say without a doubt things are much different now. I was never a border but the odd case where younger students were beaten were normally dealt with by expulsion. There is a concerted effort now to stamp out bullying. Of course it still occurs but it is rarely tolerated.
Yes I went to a very white “school of reputation” in the early 80’s as a boarder and was bullied mercilessly there. Though it was mostly verbal rather than physical abuse I think this is what actually causes the most harm. A broken bone can heal in a bit of time, but a broken spirit? It completely fucked up my life, making me depressed (undiagnosed and untreated for much of that time) from the age of 14 to the age of 42 and with severe anxiety issues that still continue.
The bullying was an accepted by teachers and pupils as part of the culture of the school. They probably did view it as character building. And perhaps it could have been, had it been evenly and fairly shared around, but it wasn’t. That’s not how bullying works. The most vulnerable people are identified and 95% of the bullying is directed at that 2% of the children. Look at our shameful youth suicide rate and I am sure you will find most of them are that unfortunate 2%.
The irony is that my parents scrimped and saved to send me there because it was supposedly a “good school”!
“Education is a partnership but unfortunately at the moment media and political comment sees it as a one way street with the everything stacked against teachers.”
Education is a partnership where everyone should be working to support our children – not trying to knock spots of each other (the adults that is.)
Have just seen Descendant of Smith’s ghastly story have never heard the like . I taught in some tough schools in England through the seventies and eighties and I have never encountered such a litany of horror. My colleagues and I were always on the lookout for any bullying behaviour and took grounds duty very, very seriously and there were quite a few of us in large schoools so students always had back up and support. I haven’t seen as much support in New Zealand, especially in primary schools and some intermediate schools appear to be a bit tough on the children. I put it down to the “laid back Kiwi attitude”, but I must say I felt a bit sorry for the children having little adult supervision in large grounds. However I realise I have only seen and experienced some schools, both as a teacher and a parent.
I sent my brother “Boy” the Christmas before last ( he went to quite a tough British school ) and he said how sad and angry it had made him. Descendant of Smith’s story has made me feel very very sad and sickened too. Children should never have to go through this. Thank God you came out the other side DOS, I am so sorry this happened to you in what was meant to be a safe and becoming place.
March 06, 2012 Bombing Osirak, Burying UN Resolution 487 – An Exchange With The BBC’s Jonathan Marcus
On June 7, 1981, eight Israeli aircraft bombed the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor ten miles southeast of Baghdad. Ten Iraqis and one French civilian were killed. In his book State of Denial, journalist Bob Woodward argued that the raid intensified Iraq’s nuclear programme:
‘Israeli intelligence were convinced that their strike… had ended Saddam’s program. Instead [it prompted] covert funding for a nuclear program code-named “PC3” involving 5,000 people testing and building ingredients for a nuclear bomb…’ (Woodward, State of Denial, Simon & Schuster, 2006, p.215)
In response to the attack, UN Security Council Resolution 487 was passed 15-0, on June 19, 1981, with no-one opposing and no-one abstaining – not even the United States. It is worth quoting the Resolution at some length:
‘Fully aware of the fact that Iraq has been a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons since it came into force in 1970, that in accordance with that Treaty Iraq has accepted IAEA safeguards on all its nuclear activities, and that the Agency has testified that these safeguards have been satisfactorily applied to date,
‘Noting furthermore that Israel has not adhered to the non-proliferation Treaty…
‘Considering that, under the terms of Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Charter of the United Nations: “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations”,
‘1. Strongly condemns the military attack by Israel in clear violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the norms of international conduct;
‘2. Calls upon Israel to refrain in the future from any such acts or threats thereof;
‘3. Further considers that the said attack constitutes a serious threat to the entire IAEA safeguards regime which is the foundation of the non-proliferation Treaty;
‘4. Fully recognizes the inalienable sovereign right of Iraq, and all other States, especially the developing countries, to establish programmes of technological and nuclear development to develop their economy and industry for peaceful purposes in accordance with their present and future needs and consistent with the internationally accepted objectives of preventing nuclear-weapons proliferation;
‘5. Calls upon Israel urgently to place its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards;
‘6. Considers that Iraq is entitled to appropriate redress for the destruction it has suffered, responsibility for which has been acknowledged by Israel…’
Readers may be wondering why they have not seen or heard more about Resolution 487 during a period of intense speculation that Israel might launch a similar attack, involving the same violation of international law, on Iran. We can all, of course, remember the endless political and media references to UN Resolutions 1441 and 687, said to be relevant to the US-UK attack on Iraq in March 2003. The likes of Tony Blair and Jack Straw never stopped reminding the public of their crucial significance. We will return to media coverage of Osirak and Resolution 487 below.
‘Getting There’ – An Exchange With Jonathan Marcus
Last week, the BBC published an article by Defence Correspondent Jonathan Marcus under the title, ‘How Israel might strike at Iran’ (Subsequently altered to, ‘How Iran might respond to Israeli attack’).
Like a tourist guide, the piece listed Israeli aircraft under the banner ‘Getting There – Aircraft, Details, Task’ and identified ‘Potential targets’, including Iranian nuclear energy facilities (as discussed in our previous alert, there is currently no evidence that Iran is even planning to attempt to build a nuclear weapon).
The nuclear enrichment plant at Natanz is a clear target. Marcus commented: ‘The facility is underground, making bunker-busting munitions essential.’
The military site at Parchin was also mentioned:
‘IAEA inspectors were prevented from visiting the site in February 2012 as they sought to clarify the “possible military dimensions” of Iran’s nuclear programme.’
In an article also published last week titled, ‘How the media got the Parchin story wrong,’ investigative journalist Gareth Porter wrote that ‘explicit statements on the issue by the Iranian Ambassador to the IAEA and the language of the new IAEA report indicate that Iran did not reject an IAEA visit to the base per se but was only refusing access as long as no agreement had been reached with the IAEA governing the modalities of cooperation’.
Porter added:
‘But not a single major news media report has reported the significant difference between initial media coverage on the Parchin access issue and the information now available from the initial IAEA report and Soltanieh [Iranian Permanent Representative to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh].’
Returning to the BBC analysis, the ‘Task’ for each Israeli weapon system was described. However, when it came to Iranian defences, instead of ‘Task’, Marcus used the word ‘Threat’, thus presenting the imagined conflict from an Israeli perspective. Of course the Iranians might well perceive Israeli ‘Tasks’ as ‘Threats’. The media monitoring website News Unspun noted the biased language, complaints followed, and the BBC changed ‘Threat’ to ‘Efficacy’.
On February 27, we wrote to Jonathan Marcus about his article:
Presumably the legal issues surrounding an Israeli attack, and the possibility of major civilian casualties, don’t merit a mention. Amazing to see such a close copy of the ‘toys for boys’ journalism that preceded the war on Iraq, which claimed 100,000s, perhaps a million, human lives. That ought to be sobering.
Best wishes
David Edwards
Marcus responded the same day:
Well that I suppose sounds an incisive point but when I am asked by my editors to write a military assessment of Israel’s capacities to carry out such a mission, I speak to the air power experts and write the piece.
There are indeed many other aspects to this story and I am sure they are being coveted and will be covered extensively over the coming weeks and months.
This is not “toys for boys”- go to a wargaming exhibition if you want that – this is a military analysis – nothing more, nothing less.
JM
Further exchanges took place on the same day:
Thanks Jonathan. You wrote:
‘Only a few days ago, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of staff, Gen Martin Dempsey, said that an Israeli attack would not be prudent. Such a strike, he said, “would be destabilising and would not achieve their long-term objectives”.’
What’s the difference between citing a US general on the imprudent nature of a strike and citing an expert on international law on the illegal nature of a strike? Dempsey was talking about political consequences – it ‘would be destabilising’ – which could also justify mention of possible civilian casualties, which would certainly be destabilising.
As an independent journalist, you could include this material, or suggest it to your editors for inclusion, or protest if they took it out.
Best
David
Marcus replied:
The piece dealt with the subject that was requested, which is why the General was quoted. Indeed there would have been a prominent USAF general (retd) cited in the piece but he was not able to respond in time, though that probably wouldn’t have made you any happier.
The other issues you mention, not least the legality of such a strike, were not the issue here. I daresay that I will probably be asked to do something on that subject in due course.
While discussing military matters the piece did not give any sense that this would be an easy nor an un-problematic undertaking. Indeed one of the people interviewed gave a pretty blunt view of the desirability of such an attack.
Your glib toys for boys reference annoyed me since I think it rather betrays your own prejudices. The freedoms you and I enjoy – me to broadcast what I believe is a fair assessment – and you to write in and criticise it – were maintained by “boys with toys” as you call them.
Your implication is that the piece is in some sense “war-mongering” which I entirely disagree with – for all I know you may be a battle-scarred recipient of the VC – but I have in the past seen some fighting reasonably close-up. It is not pleasant. But I know what wars are about and – if I may speak personally for a moment – have no enthusiasm for them.
That’s it – you’ve had my two responses (on my day off as well – there’s public service). You should be glorying in the fact that we have a BBC and especially the World Service – celebrating its 80th birthday this year), rather than always carping and complaining. But you are of course entitled to your opinion, as I am to provide my informed assessment.
Regards
JM
We responded:
Thanks Jonathan. Sorry if you were annoyed by the ‘toys for boys’ comment. I meant to suggest that it is wrong and dangerous to discuss military possibilities as a kind of technical issue distinct from political and humanitarian concerns. As I mentioned, you did refer to political issues, but you haven’t explained why these were included when the related issues of legality and possible civilian casualties were not.
In his analysis of obedience in modern society, the psychologist Stanley Milgram remarked on the growing ‘tendency of the individual to become so absorbed in the narrow technical aspects of the task that he loses sight of its broader consequences,’ such that he ‘entrusts the broader tasks of setting goals and assessing morality to the… authority he is serving’. (Milgram, Obedience to Authority, Pinter & Martin, 1974, p.25)
It seems to me that your piece was an example of what Milgram was warning against. He pointed out that, finally – regardless of what is ‘requested’ of us – we are all morally responsible for our own actions. If BBC editors ask for a purely technical analysis of a possible future conflict, they should be resisted.
Best wishes
David
Marcus replied:
There will be a follow up piece later this week looking at at least of the issues you raise. this one happily was the most looked at page today so there is clearly interest.
I am not going to get into the sociology of the media – It gives me indigestion.
JM’
We answered:
That’s good to hear, thanks.
Best
David
We didn’t mean we were glad to hear that ‘sociology’ gives Marcus indigestion. We were grateful for his lengthy, if somewhat gruff, responses. He deserves credit for responding at all (so many BBC journalists do not). We look forward to his article ‘looking at at least [some?] of the issues’ we raised. If he mentions Osirak, and especially Resolution 487, he will have reinvented himself as a media outlier.
So how extraordinary would a Marcus mention of these issues be? Recall that June 7, 2011 marked the 30th anniversary of Israel’s historic raid on Osirak – the world’s first attack on a nuclear facility. And yet the LexisNexis media search engine records just eight mentions of Osirak in all UK national newspapers in the last 12 months. On the day of the anniversary itself, the attack was mentioned in single-sentence, ‘On this day in history’ comments in the free London newspaper Metro and in the Paisley Daily Express. The words ‘Osirak’ and ‘Resolution 487’ produced zero results for all available dates in all print media.
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The goal of Media Lens is to promote rationality, compassion and respect for others. If you do write to journalists, we strongly urge you to maintain a polite, non-aggressive and non-abusive tone.
Unlike the the Gulf of Mexico, New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty hasn’t had any comprehensive study into the environmental effects from the Rena disaster.
This is outrageous considering the Rena was also carrying large amounts of dangerous chemicals, with the cumulative toxic effects likely to cause damage to the environment for many years to come…
muzza our public service is rated as the least corrupt by international ratings agencies !
But our business sector is rated as one of the most corrupt by international agencies!
Do you have a link for this claim?
I find the claim about New Zealand businesses impossible to believe.
Which International agencies and when did they say it?
His claim wasn’t about the competence or otherwise on NZ Managers.
He claimed that New Zealand businesses were CORRUPT.
That is the thing I find very hard to believe.
The problem that I’ve seen over and again is that we consistently promote the wrong people into management. The same mistakes get made over and over:
1. We confuse extrovert behavior and having a loud mouth, the ability to verbally bully or push people about… with leadership.
2. At the same time we promote -yes-men who we know won’t rock the boat or threaten the people at the top.
3. We confuse ‘management’ with ‘leadership’. We don’t train or mentor people properly in the skills needed to be a good leader.
4. Too often we fail to realise that the people at the top set the moral and behavioural standards and for this reason we promote people who fall short in this respect.
5. And far too often we DON”T promote the right people because they are too skilled and valuable doing what they are at present.
Only about 1/3 of all the many, many ‘managers’ I’ve met in my life really should have been in the job. The rest were either well-meaning amateurs at best, ditherers and road-blockers… or psychopathic arseholes whose sole purpose in life was to exploit their organisational power to torment their victims.
Pete George you have placed this comment on another blog
When the Chinese have taken over our economy and land, Muslims have taken over our law, and Australians have taken over our workforce, the Indians have taken over our service industry, the Pacific Islanders have taken over our rugby, and then US has taken over the rest of the world, what then?
What do you mean here Pete George? How does this fit in with your antiviolence line when the comment you have put up seems to incite difference and fear, all of which can lead to violence against ‘others’ in extreme cases. Haven’t you just contributed to a “culture of violence”.
It the bankers and neo-libs taking over our laws. Can’t see any of the regressive laws being enacted as having any Islamic influence what-so-ever.
How the fuck you extrapolate that to Muslims is beyond me.
You might also like to consider the Islamic notion of not charging interest on loans.
Islam allows only one kind of loan and that is qard-el-hassan (literally good loan) whereby the lender does not charge any interest or additional amount over the money lent.
What’s apparent the more you open your mouth (albeit via your keyboard) the more you come across as a right wing bigoted conservative.
@Descendant of Smith. That is horrific, and I hope that kids these days are more likely to tell their parents or teachers, who would hopefully believe them and take action against the bullies (not the victims as still happens). It is important to speak up as others being bullied then feel they are not alone. Boys high decile schools are particularly prone to endemic bullying. Also hope you got some counselling, as bullying is similar to other PTSDs in its long term affects on the victims.
I don’t mind speaking out about it and it helps others when I have.
In the end I was pretty resilient and have had no long term effects apart from further developing an already held social conscience and a dislike for bullying, the abuse of power and hypocrisy.
Some of the other kids suffered, including running away.
I remember somewhat coming across a man in his 70’s who still got unspeakably angry when he thought of what had happened to him at the same school many years earlier.
That’s why Pete and others of his ilk are wrong when they talk about how great it was in the old days and that this generation is more violent.
Like to ability to rape your spouse this sort of behaviour was condoned and accepted, as was the abuse of those with intellectual and psychiatric problems in institutions.
Anyone who has worked with many of the people who were previously institutionalised – including within orphanages – knows the damage that some of these people had done to them.
The right wing notion is that everyone can be resilient and pull themselves up by their bootstraps is so abhorrent – many can – many cannot.
I’ve been making this observation for years and have had many arguments over this with those from earlier generations who seem to have very rose tinted glassless.
It was interesting to have this view re-inforced recently when coming across this book:
The question that should always be asked is in who’s interest is it to have both a fearful population and to convey that it’s your fault if you can’t get your shit together?
That’s why Pete and others of his ilk are wrong when they talk about how great it was in the old days and that this generation is more violent.
Not my ilk, I often argue against those who say things like we should go back to how things were in the 50s. Redbaiter used to say we should go back to education as it was in about 1905.
I doubt a general population anywhere at any time in history has had things as good as we do right now. Plenty of room for improvement yet but actual wellbeing and opportunity-wise even the bottom 10% are better off then the bottom 90% a hundred years ago. Better than everyone healthwise and for life expectancy.
I would be surprised if health stats and cause of death stats for NZ 100 years ago are as reliable as todays – so not as easy as you make it look to make comparisons.
What is certain though is that some diseases, particularly the non-infectious diseases, are on the rise in NZ. Obesity, diabetes type 2, high blood pressure, bowel cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, lymphoma and others.
There is evidence from population studies that the western diet and lifestyle are responsible in some way (the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor focuses on genetic predispositions – but diet and lifestyle are crucial – and more amenable to goverbmnet action – asssuming we have finally discarded the eugenics based options).
I was very impressed this week by the performance and straight to the point style of Green’s Julie Anne Genter taking on Brownlee of transport issues. This style is also evident in her comments quoted in this article , eg “The numbers show the the top people are paid 50 times more than those staffing security or doing the cleaning,” Genter said. “It’s an example of what is happening in New Zealand. People who are earning the most are earning so much more than others. Are they really worth it? And is it economically and socially sustainable?”
It is also interesting to note that in the article she is quoted before Claire Curran …..
But I divert from the subject matter of the article itself.
More progress on the ‘draft ACTION PLAN against ‘white collar’ crime, corruption and ‘corporate welfare’!
WHERE’S THE ‘REGISTER OF INTERESTS’ FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES AND STAFF (INCLUDING CONSULTANTS) RESPONSIBLE FOR PROCUREMENT AND PROPERTY?
How can the public be confident that there are no untoward ‘conflicts of interest’ between those responsible for giving and those who receive private sector contracts for ‘goods, services and people’ at local government level?
How come, in New Zealand, ‘perceived’ to be the ‘least corrupt country in the world’ there isn’t already this framework for genuine ‘open, transparent and democratically accountable’ local government?
Why should citizens and ratepayers pay rates – when the ‘books’ aren’t open – we don’t know exactly where our money is going, and we don’t know if it’s going to private sector consultants/contractors who may be mates / family or associates of local government elected representatives or employees responsible for procurement and property?
How can ‘conflicts of interest’ be avoided/ minimised – if interests aren’t DECLARED, and ‘Registers of Interest’ made publicly available?
Good enough for central government elected representatives – why not local government elected representatives?
Next step – ‘Registers of Interest’ for ALL those responsible for awarding contracts and responsible for procurement and property……
Go, Penny – well done! IMO if people want to run for and get elected to local councils, then they must be prepared to have their interests out in the open. Ditto, high level council staff.
Not worth having your entire personal financials exposed to public scrutiny for a measley $40K-$50K pa for a 3 year term. Which is the ball park that a lot of these councillor positions pay.
In other words, this proposal is a good way to put people off from bothering to stand for local government.
Now if there was a direct conflict of interest around a matter which was being considered – yes in that case it makes sense to require the publishing of relevant financial holdings, for someone else to independently vet the decision making process, or to allow the councillor to recuse themselves from the discussion.
‘Notorious hacktivist group Anonymous has taken down the UK Home Office website. The group took responsibility for the attack, saying in their tweet it was launched for ‘draconian surveillance proposals.’
‘British security agencies are pushing for a law which would allow police to monitor text messages, phone calls and emails of their citizens, as well as websites visited, Facebook and Twitter exchanges, and even online game chats. More than $3 billion over the first decade alone is the extraordinary sum the British taxpayer may have to pay to be legally spied upon should the bill be passed.’
If our power companies become privatised, how can the government make sustainable energy a national priority without impinging on private interests? http://bit.ly/HrO6oS
Back in 2016, the Portuguese government announced plans to stop burning coal by 2030. But progress has come much quicker, and they're now scheduled to close their last coal plant by the end of this year: The Sines coal plant in Portugal went offline at midnight yesterday evening (14 ...
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...
"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...
This is a re-post from Inside Climate News by Ilana Cohen. Inside Climate News is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Whether or not people accept the science on Covid-19 and climate change, both global crises will have lasting impacts on health and ...
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...
The session started off so well. Annalax – suitably chastised – spent a pleasant morning with his new girlfriend (he would say paramour, of course, but for our purposes, girlfriend is easier*). He told her about Waking World Drow, and their worship of Her Ladyship. And he started ...
In a recent column I wrote for local newspapers, I ventured to suggest that Donald Trump – in addition to being a liar and a cheat, and sexist and racist – was a fascist in the making and would probably try, if he were to lose the election, to defy ...
When I was preparing for my School C English exam I knew I needed some quotes to splash through my essays. But remembering lines was never my strong point, so I tended to look for the low-hanging fruit. We’d studied Shakespeare’s King Lear that year and perhaps the lowest hanging ...
When I went to bed last night, I was expecting today to be eventful. A lot of pouting in Congress as last-ditch Trumpers staged bad-faith "objections" to a democratic election, maybe some rioting on the streets of Washington DC from angry Trump supporters. But I wasn't expecting anything like an ...
Melted ice of the past answers question today? Kate Ashley and a large crew of coauthors wind back the clock to look at Antarctic sea ice behavior in times gone by, in Mid-Holocene Antarctic sea-ice increase driven by marine ice sheet retreat. For armchair scientists following the Antarctic sea ice situation, something jumps out in ...
Christina SzalinskiWhen Martha Field became pregnant in 2005, a singular fear weighed on her mind. Not long before, as a Cornell University graduate student researching how genes and nutrients interact to cause disease, she had seen images of unborn mouse pups smaller than her pinkie nail, some with ...
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidates for President and Vice President respectively for the US 2020 Election, may have dispensed with the erstwhile nemesis, Trump the candidate – but there are numerous critical openings through which much, much worse many out there may yet see fit to ...
I don’t know Taupō well. Even though I stop off there from time to time, I’m always on the way to somewhere else. Usually Taupō means making a hot water puddle in the gritty sand followed by a swim in the lake, noticing with bemusement and resignation the traffic, the ...
Frances Williams, King’s College LondonFor most people, infection with SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – leads to mild, short-term symptoms, acute respiratory illness, or possibly no symptoms at all. But some people have long-lasting symptoms after their infection – this has been dubbed “long COVID”. Scientists are ...
Last night, a British court ruled that Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US. Unfortunately, its not because all he is "guilty" of is journalism, or because the offence the US wants to charge him with - espionage - is of an inherently political nature; instead the judge accepted ...
Is the Gender Identity Movement a movement for human liberation, or is it a regressive movement which undermines women’s liberation and promotes sexist stereotypes? Should biological males be allowed to play in women’s sport, use women-only spaces (public toilets, changing rooms, other facilities), be able to have access to everything ...
Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University and Gareth Dorrian, University of BirminghamSpace exploration achieved several notable firsts in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, including commercial human spaceflight and returning samples of an asteroid to Earth. The coming year is shaping up to be just as interesting. Here are some of ...
Michael Head, University of SouthamptonThe UK has become the first country to authorise the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for public use, with roll-out to start in the first week of 2021. This vaccine is the second to be authorised in the UK – following the Pfizer vaccine. The British government ...
So, Boris Johnson has been footering about in hospitals again. We should be grateful, perhaps, that on this occasion the Clown-in-Chief is only (probably) getting in the way and causing distractions, rather than taking up a bed, vital equipment and resources and adding more strain and danger to exhausted staff.Look at ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... SkS in the News... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Many Scientists Now Say Global Warming Could Stop Relatively Quickly After Emissions Go to ZeroThat’s one of several recent ...
The situation in the UK is looking catastrophic.Cases: over *70,000* people who were tested in England on 29th December tested positive. This is *not* because there were more tests on that day. It *is* 4 days after Christmas though, around when people who caught Covid on Christmas Day might start ...
by Don Franks For five days over New Year weekend, sixteen prisoners in the archaic pre WW1 block of Waikeria Prison defied authorities by setting fires and occupying the building’s roof. They eventually agreed to surrender after intervention from Maori party co-leader Rawiri Waititi. A message from the protesting men had stated: ...
Lost Opportunity: The powerful political metaphor of the Maori Party leading the despised and marginalised from danger to safety, is one Labour could have pre-empted by taking the uprising at Waikeria Prison much more seriously. AS WORD OF Rawiri Waititi’s successful intervention in the Waikeria Prison stand-off spreads, the Maori ...
As we welcome in the new year, our focus is on continuing to keep New Zealanders safe and moving forward with our economic recovery. There’s a lot to get on with, but before we say a final goodbye to 2020, here’s a quick look back at some of the milestones ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has added her warm congratulations to the New Zealanders recognised for their contributions to their communities and the country in the New Year 2021 Honours List. “The past year has been one that few of us could have imagined. In spite of all the things that ...
Attorney-General and Minister for the Environment David Parker has congratulated two retired judges who have had their contributions to the country and their communities recognised in the New Year 2021 Honours list. The Hon Tony Randerson QC has been appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the New Year’s Honours List 2021 highlights again the outstanding contribution made by Pacific people across Aotearoa. “We are acknowledging the work of 13 Pacific leaders in the New Year’s Honours, representing a number of sectors including health, education, community, sports, the ...
The Government’s investment in digital literacy training for seniors has led to more than 250 people participating so far, helping them stay connected. “COVID-19 has meant older New Zealanders are showing more interest in learning how to use technology like Zoom and Skype so they can to keep in touch ...
Dairy prices increased by 3.9% across the board at the latest Fonterra global auction. The lift followed rises of 1.3% and 4.3% in the December auctions which took dairy prices to their highest level in 11 months, defying those analysts who believed Covid-19 had disrupted dairy markets. In the latest ...
America's Cup team American Magic has spoken publicly after their boat Patriot capsized when on its way to their first win of the Challenger Selection Series yesterday. Patriot dramatically capsized yesterday, becoming temporarily airborne before crashing back into the water and tipping. The boat, helmed by New Zealander Dean Barker, could not be ...
It’s a seemingly age old question: why do Auckland’s beaches become unswimmable after every single downpour? Stewart Sowman-Lund investigates.Ah, the beach. A staple of the New Zealand summer. Unless, of course, you’re based in Auckland and it’s raining. The start of 2021 has been a lot like every other New ...
We have opened a book, among members of the Point of Order team, on how long it will be before the PM offers to sort out the land dispute at Wellington’s Shelly Bay and (to win the double) how much the settlement will cost taxpayers. Just a few weeks ago ...
Breakfast TV news is back for 2021, and Tara Ward got up early to watch. “Thank god it’s almost Christmas,” John Campbell said during the opening minutes of Breakfast’s premiere episode of the year. “2021’s been rough so far. I’m buggered”. We’re all buggered, to be fair, but I’m worried that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Pearson, Professor of Journalism and Social Media, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Griffith University The blame for the recent assault on the US Capitol and President Donald Trump’s broader dismantling of democratic institutions and norms can be ...
Despite a popular and unifying leader of the governing party, divisions both in policy and culture will test the progressive movement, writes Peter McKenzie.‘I think we’re confused.” Marlon Drake is an organiser for the Living Wage Movement. His job takes him all over Wellington, trying to convince businesses to increase ...
Covid-19 Recovery Minister Chris Hipkins says vaccinations should be available to the public by the middle of the year, but other countries are prioritised. ...
It’s as true now as it ever has been: nowhere else offers an education experience like that of Dunedin. But rather than resting on their laurels, the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic have plans to make the city an even more inspiring place for students.From high in the summit ...
Haggis, neeps and tatties and whisky may not be a traditional spread for a summer gathering in NZ, but trust Auckland city councillor and Kiwi-Scot Cathy Casey on this one. Gie it laldy! Rule one: Hold it on (or near) January 25Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759. Since the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University It could be argued artificial intelligence (AI) is already the indispensable tool of the 21st century. From helping doctors diagnose and treat patients to rapidly advancing new drug discoveries, it’s our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University Through recent natural disasters, global upheavals and a pandemic, Australia’s political centre has largely held. Australians may have disagreed at times, but they have also kept faith with governmental norms, eschewing the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Seale, Associate professor, UNSW Health workers are at higher risk of COVID infection and illness. They can also act as extremely efficient transmitters of viruses to others in medical and aged care facilities. That’s why health workers have been prioritised to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jim Orchard, Adjunct Lecturer, Monash University Last week, somewhat overshadowed by the events in Washington, the Democrats took control of the US Senate. The Democrats now hold a small majority in both the House and the Senate until 2022, giving President-elect Joe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mittul Vahanvati, Lecturer, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Heatwaves, floods, bushfires: disaster season is upon us again. We can’t prevent hazards or climate change-related extreme weather events but we can prepare for them — not just as individuals ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandie Shean, Lecturer, School of Education, Edith Cowan University Starting school is an important event for children and a positive experience can set the tone for the rest of their school experience. Some children are excited to attend school for the first ...
Some families in emergency housing are reporting their children are becoming emotionally distressed because of their living conditions. Demand for emergency accommodation has escalated this past year with the number of emergency housing grants increasing by half. Data showed nearly 10,000 people were given an Emergency Housing Special Needs Grant between ...
Summer reissue: Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden are back for a second season of On the Rag, and where better to start than with the mysterious, exhausting world of wellness?First published June 23, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is ...
With few Covid-19 infections and negiligible natural immunity, New Zealand faces being a victim of its own success when it is left till last to get the vaccines, argues Dr Parmjeet Parmar. ...
Steve Braunias reports on a literary cancelling. The Corrections department has refused to allow Jared Savage's best-selling book Gangland inside prison on the grounds that it "promotes violence and drug use". An inmate at Otago Corrections Facility in Dunedin was sent a copy of the book – but it was ...
New data from the CTU’s annual work life survey shows a snapshot of working people’s experiences and outlook heading out of 2020 and into the new year. Concerningly 42% of respondents cite workplace bullying as an issue in their workplace - a number ...
The dramatic capsize of American Magic brought out the best in the America's Cup sailing fraternity. But, Suzanne McFadden asks, what does it mean to the crippled New York Yacht Club campaign and to the Prada Cup? It was a scene as unreal as it was calamitous. Right at the moment the ...
An international player, selector and self-confessed cricket stats nerd, Penny Kinsella has now played a hand in recording the rich history of the women's game in New Zealand. Penny Kinsella’s cricketing career was perched on the cusp of change for the White Ferns. “My first tour to Australia, we ...
The current number of members of parliament is starting to get too low for the job we expect them to do, argues Alex Braae. As a general rule, with the possible exception of their families, nobody likes backbench MPs. But it’s nevertheless time we accepted that parliament should have more of ...
The experience in the Brazilian city of Manaus reveals how mistaken, and dangerous, the herd-immunity-by-infection theory really is. As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop ...
As New Zealand gears up to fight climate change, experts warn that we need to actually reduce emissions, not just plant trees to offset our greenhouse gases. ...
A nationwide poll has found majority support for the government to continue to closely monitor abortions in New Zealand and the reasons for it, despite the Ministry of Health recently suggesting that there is not a use for collecting much of this information. ...
The out-of-control growth in gangs, gun crime, and violent gang activity is exposing our communities to dangerous levels of violence that will inevitably end in tragedy, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. “The recent incidents of people being shot and ...
Successive governments have paid lip service to our productivity challenge but have failed to deliver. It's time to establish a Productivity Council charged with prioritising efforts. ...
Understanding the connection between chronic fatigue syndrome and ‘long Covid’ might be helpful in treating symptoms that doctors will find all too easy to dismiss.When people began to report signs of “long Covid”, characterised by a lack of full recovery from the virus and debilitating fatigue, I recognised their stories. ...
Nadine Anne Hura, who never considered herself an artist, reflects on what art and making has taught her.I couldn’t clean or cook or wash the clothes, but I could sew. That’s a lie, I’m a terrible sewer, but I left work early to fossick around in the $1 bin of ...
Summer reissue: In the final episode of this season of Bad News, Alice is joined by Billy T award winner Kura Forrester to look at how well we’re honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 2020.First published September 3, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The ...
Lucy Revill’s The Residents is a blog about daily life in Wellington that has morphed into a stylish, low-key coffee-table book featuring interviews and photographic portraits of 38 Wellingtonians. In this extract, Revill profiles Eboni Waitere, owner and executive director of Huia Publishers. The Residents features names like Monique Fiso ...
Pacific Media Watch correspondent The pro-independence conflict in West Papua with a missionary plane reportedly being shot down at Intan Jaya has stirred contrasting responses from the TNI/POLRI state sources, church leaders and an independence leader. A shooting caused a plane to catch fire on 6 January 2021 in the ...
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“Asked which ministers he admires, he nominates without hesitation John Key, whom he calls “a complete article”
“When you think about him as politician and his both intellect and EQ [emotional intelligence], he is a complete package so it is hard to go past him in terms of his style and the way he does things.”
“He is not an academic but he is intellectual,” says Bridges”
“He also makes special mention of Attorney-General Chris Finlayson, Trade Minister Tim Groser, and former Justice Minister Simon Power”
Oh dear!
I read that. What a case study in puff pieces that article is.
Yes the public has just been groomed, the same way that Bridges has been by the Tory Masters UK.
The names he has given as “special mention” only serve to illustrate his grooming!
There is nothing West Auckland about this boy!
Maybe happy but I read a certain skepticism between Audrey’s lines. A sort of pride going before a fall for Bridges?
‘…whom he calls “a complete article”
More like a shitty article.
‘“He is not an academic but he is intellectual,” says Bridges’
Sense of humour I see.
Glad this was picked up by Muzza- my heart sank too. Poor Simon Bridges, to consider Key to be the “complete article” one has to wonder at the merit and mental and moral fibre of this new minister. Hard to respect a person who speaks so adoringly (and blindly) about Key.
Describing someone as a “complete article” dehumanises them and allows you to interact with them in ways that a description such as “a person with a consistent, coherent point of view” does not allow.
“intellectual” is also pretty loaded, in the NZ context – inviting just the reponse you give.
I reckon it’s all a put down.
Bridges comes across as an attention seeking young man without strong views on how to achieve social justice.
New Zealand has a terrible culture of violence that ruins many lives – and kills some.
A Sunday Star Times report on The secret story of violence in schools is very disturbing.
Robin Duff said, in the PPTA News, the teachers’ union could not continue to be “complicit in this conspiracy of silence” that concealed the level of violence within schools.
The culture of violence in schools is another part of a widespread problem embedded in our society. Schools, like families and other groups in society need to confront this, not keep it secret.
Pat Walsh, Secondary Principals’ Association President, said “he had not seen any evidence of a conspiracy of silence, nor was he aware of principals banning teachers from reporting assaults to police.”
We should at least find out, serious claims have been made.
I think the Standard should have a rule against linkwhoring. If you linkwhore three days in a row the key gets thrown away and your laptop gets crushed.
[ The policy allows it within certain parameters: ” You can link to your own site provided it isn’t excessive, explains why you think it should be read (so people can decide not to go there without clicking into it), is short, and you either do it in OpenMike or within the context of the post or surrounding comments.”…RL]
Do you not think that suppressing stories of violence in schools is important?
Ah, you’re trying to divert from it here. Are you trying to continue the conspiracy of silence on violence? I guess trying to score a political hit beats violence.
PG – conspiracy theorist lol
Peter are you wearing a tin foil hat right now?
savagemicky, if you actually read what’s there rather than resorting to repeat pitifil pinpricking you would see that it was Robin Duff who said the teachers’ union could not continue to be “complicit in this conspiracy of silence”. He used a cliche to try and raise attention, but isn’t what he says a concern?
You seem to be more intent on attacking people than discussing issues that are raised.
Nah Petey you accused me of being part of the conspiracy of silence.
DNFTT
…your laptop gets crushed… 😀 More than fair.
It would be good if posters were to indicate any links in their post that lead to their own blog rather than to material directly related to the subject at hand. T’would be easy to do.
You’d think some of the worst offenders actually want unwitting readers to be tricked into going where they don’t want to go….
Well. It does save typing out again, when you have already addressed that issue on your own blog.
I do not like those who put a placeholder instead of the entire link. I get really pissed off when I am unknowingly directed to Kiwibog, or PG, for example. I can only take so much bullshit at a time.
It’s easy enough to say something like “I’ve explained this in more detail at my own blog *link* etc.
It’s probably a good idea to be clear about what all links are linking to. I prefer not to unwittingly end-up at KB or WO. It’s not difficult.
Thats why I prefer full links.
For example with mine. Blogspot.kjt sort of gives away where it is going.
Then it is up to the reader to decide.
Sure, because it is in teachers’ interests to keep quiet when it is they who often become the victims of violence against themselves or their property.
Warning – second link is to PG’s own site.
Dear Pete George, your website is garish… particularly the multicoloured Your NZ logo. Could you possibly redesign the logo or not link to it on Saturday or Sunday, when people are likely recovering from a late night and technicolour of any kind is not welcome?
BTW You swap from accusing Eddie of making unsubstantiated claims to accusing the reader in your Wilted with wolf wail wantonness post… whatever that means? This is a sure way of turning people off reading your blog, presuming anybody gets past the graphic issues that is.
There should be a minimum design standard which your blogsite is obviously not attaining PG.
You’re right about the look of the blog, a makeover is on my to do list.
Perhaps a disclaimer like Please wear appropriate eye protection would be appropriate in the meantime.
more hair
This and the article on truancy further on in the SST are just more evidence of the medias push to portray the negative stories about education in NZ, especially at a time when performance pay, suppossed poor teaching and charter schools are being so prominently pushed by certain factions. Implicit in these articles are the thinly veiled attacks on teachers and how the onus is entirely on them to solve the problems. Witness the students in the truancy article talking about turning up to school stoned and saying school was boring or Parata saying teachers had to provide engaging programmes. Where’s the talk about what students and their families should be bringing to to the table. Education is a partnership but unfortunately at the moment media and political comment sees it as a one way street with the everything stacked against teachers.
Robin Duff raised this when writing in the PPTA News. SST simply picked up on it and highlighted it.
And the point Duff made is schools may be trying to hide negative stories. That’s a serious complaint from within the school system.
Which means you must think that parents are complicit too. And Boards of Trustees. And principles. And general staff.
A real conspiracy theory you got going there.
I do notice however that you primarily blame the “teachers union” though. How do you think they manage to keep all these other parties quiet? Probably intimidation tactics right? After all, unions always use intimidation tactics right?
Anyways I’m done feeding the trolls for today.
While not entirely disagreeing with you on this when did you last read something positive about education in NZ. Both SST articles focussed on the negative. As a teacher it seems to me that there is a concerted effort by some to portray education in a negative light as much as possible so as to influence public perception and thus making it easier for this government to make the changes they want in education.
This is a common problem – doing things right is just expected, it’s not newsworthy.
The media is naturally attracted to negatives, mistakes, scandals, problems and complaints. That’s why you won’t see balancing articles like “most teachers helped most students achieve well”.
As someone who went to NPBHS in the 70’s it seems to be that bullying has significantly decreased in schools.
What was acceptable then would in no way be condoned now.
Let me list the ways that I and others were bullied at school:
1. Being physically beaten up before breakfast by the fullback of the first fifteen many mornings before breakfast
2. Hauled out of bed and made to have cold showers in the middle of the night
3. Having to wash the rugby gear, by hand, of the boarders in the first XV – we got good at using toothpaste on the white stripes
4. Being made to stand in the middle of the field and used as tackle bags
5. Being made to fight other students for the pleasure of the prefects
6. Being caned by the prefects
7. Being made to smoke by the prefects ( I never did hence incurring more beatings)
8. Being made to run errands for the prefects such as constantly going to the dairy down the hill to buy one cents worth of jelly beans – if you were not quick enough you got a clout
9. Being sent to the teacher at prep time to be caned for no reason – and the teachers indulging and complicit in this
10. Being made to write such engaging essays as the sex life of a ping -pong ball
11. Having to site in a seated position without a chair and an upright compass (mathematical with a point) below you backside – trust me landing on this hurts
12. Being beaten up again for no reason
13. Having to hold hand upright with fingers and thumb touching while a ruler edge was forcibly applied to your fingertips
14. Being “dubbin”ed and “nugget”ed and deep heated on your private parts
15. Being hung from a tree and spray painted orange
16. Having eyebrows shaved off
17. Having to float on the swimming pool so you could be dive bombed by the prefects
18. Dorm raids in the middle of the night which were just another excuse to beat up on the weakest
19. Having to learn the names of the first XV, the All Blacks and the Taranaki rugby team – in that order – and again being hit if you got it wrong.
These are the ones that immediately spring to mind.
It’s not character building and in my experience it’s often those that were bullied who have problems later in life – particularly with violence. The bullies seem to be able to move on much more easily.
One woman I know has two sons in jail for murder who went to another boarding school. It’s only now in prison they talk about what happened to them when they were there. They went from being two quiet lovely kids at 13 to having significant issues in life when they were older.
There were some good aspects to going to NPBHS (and some very good teachers, history and biology in particular, but the bullying and the violence that I and others experienced will forever tarnish our view of that school.
The thing I notice in this country is that people are quick to jump on the band wagon when it’s Maori school involved but there seems to be much more of a cover up when the school is supposed to have a “reputation”.
Geeze… all that on a ‘good day’!
I copped it mainly at primary school; fortunately by the time I was at secondary school I had grown tall enough not to be an obvious target anymore. But it left it’s mark alright. Not something often talked about because of the stigma and shame attached to it.
These days I tend to over-react if I feel someone is putting one over on me. It only happens briefly and occasionally, but I’ve learned that if you don’t look like a soft target they’ll move onto someone else. But it’s not a comfortable place to be.
And looking at that list…. shit it’s way worse that anything I encountered. I get the impression it was worse in the provinces than at the big city schools, althought that’s just a guess.
It is definitely a lot less tolerated in public schools than it was 40 years ago.
When I found that the way to avoid being bullied, my parents shifted around a lot for work reasons, was to pick a fight with the biggest and toughest looking boy in the new school. Didn’t matter if you won or lost, no-one else would take you on after that.
I get a distinct impression that, in many private schools, and some schools that claim to be “traditional” boys schools, bullying is, still, often tacitly encouraged as a means of ensuring conformity and discipline.
Surely PG is old enough to remember that environment and to give him a sense of perspective on today. Nah, hopeless optimism that.
My memories of school are very narrow, one small rural school and one hear at a larger city school, and I was lucky to not experience a bullying environment. And my kids have all left school so I’m not in touch with how it is at the moment – I’m sure it varies a lot.
But I take notice if Robin Duff says there’s a problem.He should know something about it.
‘… but I’ve learned that if you don’t look like a soft target they’ll move onto someone else. But it’s not a comfortable place to be.’
Totally get lack of comfort thing RL – same thing goes on in the work place and quite often the bully is showing a bit of front which if you rebuff with something like “that’s a nasty/racist/… thing to do/ say” they are often totally embarrased. Recently heard about a bloke at my work who in the past cracked a joke whilst someone was having a seizure about it being a shame he didn’t have his laundry with him – this while being within earshot of the person having the seizure and no one took him to task – unfuckingbelieveable – sometimes people have to speak out about injustice and get uncomfortable.
In my case, it was primary and Intermediate, and verbal not physical and I don’t want to go into much detail (I did once, and QoT has never forgiven me for telling the truth.)
We (my sisters and I) committed 3 crimes – we were English in Rotorua in the 60s, we were working class and in the higher streams (well, I was in the higher streams) and we were brighter than the bullies. I used ‘big words’.
When at high school, an older girl made me the butt of her jokes, and called me “ostentatiously puerile” I was made up – her insults were clever, and in one or two instances merited. Because I responded in kind, we became friends.
Shit DOS, props to you for surviving – it sounds worse than some of the stuff I’ve read about English public schools.
I went to a private girls’ school and got bullied because I wanted to do my work, was tall, very slender and couldn’t be arsed teasing and tormenting other people. Since having kids, one with ADHD who gets bullied I’m a complete wolverine and the school dreads an email or phone call from me but I will not let my kid be teased unmercifully and don’t give a rat’s arse if the faculty don’t like it. Thankfully this year there are two wonderful women in the maths area who have brought the tormentors to task with some really interesting detentions – I’m sure it helps that one is HOD and married to a man with Asperger’s and the 2IC who has a finely honed sense of justice.
Once read:
The mill of God grinds slow but grinds exceeding small.
Maybe some of your former tormentors have been through the mill.
“Maybe some of your former tormentors have been through the mill.”
Not likely.
As I said my observation is that the bullies move on – the bullied are the ones who I have found have a problem later.
Most of the boarders at that time came from quite well off families.
There were not too many of us there on some sort of scholarship.
I was at NPBHS during the early 2000s and can say without a doubt things are much different now. I was never a border but the odd case where younger students were beaten were normally dealt with by expulsion. There is a concerted effort now to stamp out bullying. Of course it still occurs but it is rarely tolerated.
I was never a border [sic!]
Maybe some extra study at night with the boarders might have taught you how to spell.
There is a concerted effort now to stamp out bullying. [sic!]
Stamping out bullying is like screwing for virginity. (I know, I know, but it’s still a good one…)
Yes I went to a very white “school of reputation” in the early 80’s as a boarder and was bullied mercilessly there. Though it was mostly verbal rather than physical abuse I think this is what actually causes the most harm. A broken bone can heal in a bit of time, but a broken spirit? It completely fucked up my life, making me depressed (undiagnosed and untreated for much of that time) from the age of 14 to the age of 42 and with severe anxiety issues that still continue.
The bullying was an accepted by teachers and pupils as part of the culture of the school. They probably did view it as character building. And perhaps it could have been, had it been evenly and fairly shared around, but it wasn’t. That’s not how bullying works. The most vulnerable people are identified and 95% of the bullying is directed at that 2% of the children. Look at our shameful youth suicide rate and I am sure you will find most of them are that unfortunate 2%.
The irony is that my parents scrimped and saved to send me there because it was supposedly a “good school”!
+1+1Tony P,
“Education is a partnership but unfortunately at the moment media and political comment sees it as a one way street with the everything stacked against teachers.”
Education is a partnership where everyone should be working to support our children – not trying to knock spots of each other (the adults that is.)
Have just seen Descendant of Smith’s ghastly story have never heard the like . I taught in some tough schools in England through the seventies and eighties and I have never encountered such a litany of horror. My colleagues and I were always on the lookout for any bullying behaviour and took grounds duty very, very seriously and there were quite a few of us in large schoools so students always had back up and support. I haven’t seen as much support in New Zealand, especially in primary schools and some intermediate schools appear to be a bit tough on the children. I put it down to the “laid back Kiwi attitude”, but I must say I felt a bit sorry for the children having little adult supervision in large grounds. However I realise I have only seen and experienced some schools, both as a teacher and a parent.
I sent my brother “Boy” the Christmas before last ( he went to quite a tough British school ) and he said how sad and angry it had made him. Descendant of Smith’s story has made me feel very very sad and sickened too. Children should never have to go through this. Thank God you came out the other side DOS, I am so sorry this happened to you in what was meant to be a safe and becoming place.
Q and A on now, RussNorm and Crafar discussion – could be interesting..
Not served well for was is meant to pass as “serious tv” are we!
What about the CNN/WAR/Israeli/Romney shill spewing the CNN lines. ” I don’t think people shouild underestimate Romney”!
“In short, the rise of China”
The nodding moron hosting – What a joke!
“NZ should be a haven, of capital and people, and be more business friendly”
TVNZ having this blatant shill for globalism and neo-liberal clap trap is a disgrace!
The nodding moron, just keeps nodding along!
http://www.medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=671:bombing-osirak-burying-un-resolution-487-an-exchange-with-the-bbcs-jonathan-marcus&catid=25:alerts-2012&Itemid=69
March 06, 2012
Bombing Osirak, Burying UN Resolution 487 – An Exchange With The BBC’s Jonathan Marcus
On June 7, 1981, eight Israeli aircraft bombed the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor ten miles southeast of Baghdad. Ten Iraqis and one French civilian were killed. In his book State of Denial, journalist Bob Woodward argued that the raid intensified Iraq’s nuclear programme:
‘Israeli intelligence were convinced that their strike… had ended Saddam’s program. Instead [it prompted] covert funding for a nuclear program code-named “PC3” involving 5,000 people testing and building ingredients for a nuclear bomb…’ (Woodward, State of Denial, Simon & Schuster, 2006, p.215)
In response to the attack, UN Security Council Resolution 487 was passed 15-0, on June 19, 1981, with no-one opposing and no-one abstaining – not even the United States. It is worth quoting the Resolution at some length:
‘Fully aware of the fact that Iraq has been a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons since it came into force in 1970, that in accordance with that Treaty Iraq has accepted IAEA safeguards on all its nuclear activities, and that the Agency has testified that these safeguards have been satisfactorily applied to date,
‘Noting furthermore that Israel has not adhered to the non-proliferation Treaty…
‘Considering that, under the terms of Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Charter of the United Nations: “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations”,
‘1. Strongly condemns the military attack by Israel in clear violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the norms of international conduct;
‘2. Calls upon Israel to refrain in the future from any such acts or threats thereof;
‘3. Further considers that the said attack constitutes a serious threat to the entire IAEA safeguards regime which is the foundation of the non-proliferation Treaty;
‘4. Fully recognizes the inalienable sovereign right of Iraq, and all other States, especially the developing countries, to establish programmes of technological and nuclear development to develop their economy and industry for peaceful purposes in accordance with their present and future needs and consistent with the internationally accepted objectives of preventing nuclear-weapons proliferation;
‘5. Calls upon Israel urgently to place its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards;
‘6. Considers that Iraq is entitled to appropriate redress for the destruction it has suffered, responsibility for which has been acknowledged by Israel…’
Readers may be wondering why they have not seen or heard more about Resolution 487 during a period of intense speculation that Israel might launch a similar attack, involving the same violation of international law, on Iran. We can all, of course, remember the endless political and media references to UN Resolutions 1441 and 687, said to be relevant to the US-UK attack on Iraq in March 2003. The likes of Tony Blair and Jack Straw never stopped reminding the public of their crucial significance. We will return to media coverage of Osirak and Resolution 487 below.
‘Getting There’ – An Exchange With Jonathan Marcus
Last week, the BBC published an article by Defence Correspondent Jonathan Marcus under the title, ‘How Israel might strike at Iran’ (Subsequently altered to, ‘How Iran might respond to Israeli attack’).
Like a tourist guide, the piece listed Israeli aircraft under the banner ‘Getting There – Aircraft, Details, Task’ and identified ‘Potential targets’, including Iranian nuclear energy facilities (as discussed in our previous alert, there is currently no evidence that Iran is even planning to attempt to build a nuclear weapon).
The nuclear enrichment plant at Natanz is a clear target. Marcus commented: ‘The facility is underground, making bunker-busting munitions essential.’
The military site at Parchin was also mentioned:
‘IAEA inspectors were prevented from visiting the site in February 2012 as they sought to clarify the “possible military dimensions” of Iran’s nuclear programme.’
In an article also published last week titled, ‘How the media got the Parchin story wrong,’ investigative journalist Gareth Porter wrote that ‘explicit statements on the issue by the Iranian Ambassador to the IAEA and the language of the new IAEA report indicate that Iran did not reject an IAEA visit to the base per se but was only refusing access as long as no agreement had been reached with the IAEA governing the modalities of cooperation’.
Porter added:
‘But not a single major news media report has reported the significant difference between initial media coverage on the Parchin access issue and the information now available from the initial IAEA report and Soltanieh [Iranian Permanent Representative to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh].’
Returning to the BBC analysis, the ‘Task’ for each Israeli weapon system was described. However, when it came to Iranian defences, instead of ‘Task’, Marcus used the word ‘Threat’, thus presenting the imagined conflict from an Israeli perspective. Of course the Iranians might well perceive Israeli ‘Tasks’ as ‘Threats’. The media monitoring website News Unspun noted the biased language, complaints followed, and the BBC changed ‘Threat’ to ‘Efficacy’.
On February 27, we wrote to Jonathan Marcus about his article:
Hi Jonathan
Regarding this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17115643
Presumably the legal issues surrounding an Israeli attack, and the possibility of major civilian casualties, don’t merit a mention. Amazing to see such a close copy of the ‘toys for boys’ journalism that preceded the war on Iraq, which claimed 100,000s, perhaps a million, human lives. That ought to be sobering.
Best wishes
David Edwards
Marcus responded the same day:
Well that I suppose sounds an incisive point but when I am asked by my editors to write a military assessment of Israel’s capacities to carry out such a mission, I speak to the air power experts and write the piece.
There are indeed many other aspects to this story and I am sure they are being coveted and will be covered extensively over the coming weeks and months.
This is not “toys for boys”- go to a wargaming exhibition if you want that – this is a military analysis – nothing more, nothing less.
JM
Further exchanges took place on the same day:
Thanks Jonathan. You wrote:
‘Only a few days ago, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of staff, Gen Martin Dempsey, said that an Israeli attack would not be prudent. Such a strike, he said, “would be destabilising and would not achieve their long-term objectives”.’
What’s the difference between citing a US general on the imprudent nature of a strike and citing an expert on international law on the illegal nature of a strike? Dempsey was talking about political consequences – it ‘would be destabilising’ – which could also justify mention of possible civilian casualties, which would certainly be destabilising.
As an independent journalist, you could include this material, or suggest it to your editors for inclusion, or protest if they took it out.
Best
David
Marcus replied:
The piece dealt with the subject that was requested, which is why the General was quoted. Indeed there would have been a prominent USAF general (retd) cited in the piece but he was not able to respond in time, though that probably wouldn’t have made you any happier.
The other issues you mention, not least the legality of such a strike, were not the issue here. I daresay that I will probably be asked to do something on that subject in due course.
While discussing military matters the piece did not give any sense that this would be an easy nor an un-problematic undertaking. Indeed one of the people interviewed gave a pretty blunt view of the desirability of such an attack.
Your glib toys for boys reference annoyed me since I think it rather betrays your own prejudices. The freedoms you and I enjoy – me to broadcast what I believe is a fair assessment – and you to write in and criticise it – were maintained by “boys with toys” as you call them.
Your implication is that the piece is in some sense “war-mongering” which I entirely disagree with – for all I know you may be a battle-scarred recipient of the VC – but I have in the past seen some fighting reasonably close-up. It is not pleasant. But I know what wars are about and – if I may speak personally for a moment – have no enthusiasm for them.
That’s it – you’ve had my two responses (on my day off as well – there’s public service). You should be glorying in the fact that we have a BBC and especially the World Service – celebrating its 80th birthday this year), rather than always carping and complaining. But you are of course entitled to your opinion, as I am to provide my informed assessment.
Regards
JM
We responded:
Thanks Jonathan. Sorry if you were annoyed by the ‘toys for boys’ comment. I meant to suggest that it is wrong and dangerous to discuss military possibilities as a kind of technical issue distinct from political and humanitarian concerns. As I mentioned, you did refer to political issues, but you haven’t explained why these were included when the related issues of legality and possible civilian casualties were not.
In his analysis of obedience in modern society, the psychologist Stanley Milgram remarked on the growing ‘tendency of the individual to become so absorbed in the narrow technical aspects of the task that he loses sight of its broader consequences,’ such that he ‘entrusts the broader tasks of setting goals and assessing morality to the… authority he is serving’. (Milgram, Obedience to Authority, Pinter & Martin, 1974, p.25)
It seems to me that your piece was an example of what Milgram was warning against. He pointed out that, finally – regardless of what is ‘requested’ of us – we are all morally responsible for our own actions. If BBC editors ask for a purely technical analysis of a possible future conflict, they should be resisted.
Best wishes
David
Marcus replied:
There will be a follow up piece later this week looking at at least of the issues you raise. this one happily was the most looked at page today so there is clearly interest.
I am not going to get into the sociology of the media – It gives me indigestion.
JM’
We answered:
That’s good to hear, thanks.
Best
David
We didn’t mean we were glad to hear that ‘sociology’ gives Marcus indigestion. We were grateful for his lengthy, if somewhat gruff, responses. He deserves credit for responding at all (so many BBC journalists do not). We look forward to his article ‘looking at at least [some?] of the issues’ we raised. If he mentions Osirak, and especially Resolution 487, he will have reinvented himself as a media outlier.
So how extraordinary would a Marcus mention of these issues be? Recall that June 7, 2011 marked the 30th anniversary of Israel’s historic raid on Osirak – the world’s first attack on a nuclear facility. And yet the LexisNexis media search engine records just eight mentions of Osirak in all UK national newspapers in the last 12 months. On the day of the anniversary itself, the attack was mentioned in single-sentence, ‘On this day in history’ comments in the free London newspaper Metro and in the Paisley Daily Express. The words ‘Osirak’ and ‘Resolution 487’ produced zero results for all available dates in all print media.
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[Normally we’d prefer a shorter explanation and a link over an excessively long cut and paste like this. Try not to make a habit of it…RL]
Rena disaster not studied
Unlike the the Gulf of Mexico, New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty hasn’t had any comprehensive study into the environmental effects from the Rena disaster.
This is outrageous considering the Rena was also carrying large amounts of dangerous chemicals, with the cumulative toxic effects likely to cause damage to the environment for many years to come…
NZ, perceived least corrupt country!
Just don’t investigate, cos then it never happened eh!
muzza our public service is rated as the least corrupt by international ratings agencies !
But our business sector is rated as one of the most corrupt by international agencies!
Do you have a link for this claim?
I find the claim about New Zealand businesses impossible to believe.
Which International agencies and when did they say it?
I don’t – NZ managers tend to be some of the most incompetent in the world after all.
Especially since many of our best and brightest have frakked off too countries which will value their labour and innovation.
His claim wasn’t about the competence or otherwise on NZ Managers.
He claimed that New Zealand businesses were CORRUPT.
That is the thing I find very hard to believe.
The problem that I’ve seen over and again is that we consistently promote the wrong people into management. The same mistakes get made over and over:
1. We confuse extrovert behavior and having a loud mouth, the ability to verbally bully or push people about… with leadership.
2. At the same time we promote -yes-men who we know won’t rock the boat or threaten the people at the top.
3. We confuse ‘management’ with ‘leadership’. We don’t train or mentor people properly in the skills needed to be a good leader.
4. Too often we fail to realise that the people at the top set the moral and behavioural standards and for this reason we promote people who fall short in this respect.
5. And far too often we DON”T promote the right people because they are too skilled and valuable doing what they are at present.
Only about 1/3 of all the many, many ‘managers’ I’ve met in my life really should have been in the job. The rest were either well-meaning amateurs at best, ditherers and road-blockers… or psychopathic arseholes whose sole purpose in life was to exploit their organisational power to torment their victims.
It may be tempting but a sale to China will not be in our best interests long term.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/crafar-farm-sale-threatens-sovereignty.html
Pete George you have placed this comment on another blog
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2012/04/general_debate_8_april_2012.html#comment-953319
What do you mean here Pete George? How does this fit in with your antiviolence line when the comment you have put up seems to incite difference and fear, all of which can lead to violence against ‘others’ in extreme cases. Haven’t you just contributed to a “culture of violence”.
That guy really is delusional. Especially this bit:
The US is an empire on the defensive and in decline. The BRICS nations will hold the balance of power within the next 10 years.
Pete you left off us gays. We’re after your marriages of course. We’ll also take your cake decorating.
I didn’t want to stir them up too much there.
Have you seen that Whale has been posting a lot abou equal marriage rights?
You can have your own marriage, as far as I am concerned. Leave mine alone. :-).
You can have the cake decorating too.
It the bankers and neo-libs taking over our laws. Can’t see any of the regressive laws being enacted as having any Islamic influence what-so-ever.
How the fuck you extrapolate that to Muslims is beyond me.
You might also like to consider the Islamic notion of not charging interest on loans.
Islam allows only one kind of loan and that is qard-el-hassan (literally good loan) whereby the lender does not charge any interest or additional amount over the money lent.
What’s apparent the more you open your mouth (albeit via your keyboard) the more you come across as a right wing bigoted conservative.
@Descendant of Smith. That is horrific, and I hope that kids these days are more likely to tell their parents or teachers, who would hopefully believe them and take action against the bullies (not the victims as still happens). It is important to speak up as others being bullied then feel they are not alone. Boys high decile schools are particularly prone to endemic bullying. Also hope you got some counselling, as bullying is similar to other PTSDs in its long term affects on the victims.
I don’t mind speaking out about it and it helps others when I have.
In the end I was pretty resilient and have had no long term effects apart from further developing an already held social conscience and a dislike for bullying, the abuse of power and hypocrisy.
Some of the other kids suffered, including running away.
I remember somewhat coming across a man in his 70’s who still got unspeakably angry when he thought of what had happened to him at the same school many years earlier.
That’s why Pete and others of his ilk are wrong when they talk about how great it was in the old days and that this generation is more violent.
Like to ability to rape your spouse this sort of behaviour was condoned and accepted, as was the abuse of those with intellectual and psychiatric problems in institutions.
Anyone who has worked with many of the people who were previously institutionalised – including within orphanages – knows the damage that some of these people had done to them.
The right wing notion is that everyone can be resilient and pull themselves up by their bootstraps is so abhorrent – many can – many cannot.
I’ve been making this observation for years and have had many arguments over this with those from earlier generations who seem to have very rose tinted glassless.
It was interesting to have this view re-inforced recently when coming across this book:
The question that should always be asked is in who’s interest is it to have both a fearful population and to convey that it’s your fault if you can’t get your shit together?
That’s why Pete and others of his ilk are wrong when they talk about how great it was in the old days and that this generation is more violent.
Not my ilk, I often argue against those who say things like we should go back to how things were in the 50s. Redbaiter used to say we should go back to education as it was in about 1905.
I doubt a general population anywhere at any time in history has had things as good as we do right now. Plenty of room for improvement yet but actual wellbeing and opportunity-wise even the bottom 10% are better off then the bottom 90% a hundred years ago. Better than everyone healthwise and for life expectancy.
I would be surprised if health stats and cause of death stats for NZ 100 years ago are as reliable as todays – so not as easy as you make it look to make comparisons.
What is certain though is that some diseases, particularly the non-infectious diseases, are on the rise in NZ. Obesity, diabetes type 2, high blood pressure, bowel cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, lymphoma and others.
There is evidence from population studies that the western diet and lifestyle are responsible in some way (the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor focuses on genetic predispositions – but diet and lifestyle are crucial – and more amenable to goverbmnet action – asssuming we have finally discarded the eugenics based options).
Yet another example of feeding at the trough – http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6709307/MPs-question-top-heavy-pay-scale-at-TVNZ
I was very impressed this week by the performance and straight to the point style of Green’s Julie Anne Genter taking on Brownlee of transport issues. This style is also evident in her comments quoted in this article , eg
“The numbers show the the top people are paid 50 times more than those staffing security or doing the cleaning,” Genter said. “It’s an example of what is happening in New Zealand. People who are earning the most are earning so much more than others. Are they really worth it? And is it economically and socially sustainable?”
It is also interesting to note that in the article she is quoted before Claire Curran …..
But I divert from the subject matter of the article itself.
Seen this folks?
More progress on the ‘draft ACTION PLAN against ‘white collar’ crime, corruption and ‘corporate welfare’!
WHERE’S THE ‘REGISTER OF INTERESTS’ FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES AND STAFF (INCLUDING CONSULTANTS) RESPONSIBLE FOR PROCUREMENT AND PROPERTY?
How can the public be confident that there are no untoward ‘conflicts of interest’ between those responsible for giving and those who receive private sector contracts for ‘goods, services and people’ at local government level?
How come, in New Zealand, ‘perceived’ to be the ‘least corrupt country in the world’ there isn’t already this framework for genuine ‘open, transparent and democratically accountable’ local government?
Why should citizens and ratepayers pay rates – when the ‘books’ aren’t open – we don’t know exactly where our money is going, and we don’t know if it’s going to private sector consultants/contractors who may be mates / family or associates of local government elected representatives or employees responsible for procurement and property?
How can ‘conflicts of interest’ be avoided/ minimised – if interests aren’t DECLARED, and ‘Registers of Interest’ made publicly available?
Good enough for central government elected representatives – why not local government elected representatives?
Next step – ‘Registers of Interest’ for ALL those responsible for awarding contracts and responsible for procurement and property……
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/latest-edition/6707897/Call-for-end-to-council-secrecy
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
waterpressure@gmail.com
Go, Penny – well done! IMO if people want to run for and get elected to local councils, then they must be prepared to have their interests out in the open. Ditto, high level council staff.
Not worth having your entire personal financials exposed to public scrutiny for a measley $40K-$50K pa for a 3 year term. Which is the ball park that a lot of these councillor positions pay.
In other words, this proposal is a good way to put people off from bothering to stand for local government.
Now if there was a direct conflict of interest around a matter which was being considered – yes in that case it makes sense to require the publishing of relevant financial holdings, for someone else to independently vet the decision making process, or to allow the councillor to recuse themselves from the discussion.
That’s ok, we probably don’t want those people in government anyway.
Penny
I agree. Will advocate to my fellow elected representatives and will see where we go to.
‘Notorious hacktivist group Anonymous has taken down the UK Home Office website. The group took responsibility for the attack, saying in their tweet it was launched for ‘draconian surveillance proposals.’
‘British security agencies are pushing for a law which would allow police to monitor text messages, phone calls and emails of their citizens, as well as websites visited, Facebook and Twitter exchanges, and even online game chats. More than $3 billion over the first decade alone is the extraordinary sum the British taxpayer may have to pay to be legally spied upon should the bill be passed.’
http://rt.com/news/anonymous-cyber-attack-uk-521/
The USA Senate is trying to sneak in a similar bill re the internet.
Cant be too long until it will include in-home surveillance and then monitoring of all thoughts.
I wonder how long Paul Douglas will remain a Republican.
the http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-douglas/republican-climate-change_b_1374900.html
If our power companies become privatised, how can the government make sustainable energy a national priority without impinging on private interests? http://bit.ly/HrO6oS
They can’t but you’ll find that’s true of damn near everything – banking especially. Leaving it to private profiteers will always shaft the community.
And to me that’s more reason than any to keep power companies in public ownership so we can hopefully get some real leadership on energy policy.