Trump says Navy SEAL accused of war crimes will be moved to ‘less restrictive confinement’
“We have received reports that Chief Gallagher’s access to counsel and access to food and medical care may have been restricted,” they added. “As a result, we respectfully request that you review the Navy policies governing pretrial confinement for Chief Gallagher and other service members to ensure compliance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”
Now I am the last to say that Eddie Gallagher should be treated unfairly or denied proper access to his legal defence team
Justice is supposed to be blind
Compare the case of Eddie Gallagher to another veteran who served their country, who also languishes in prison.
Chelsea Manning: supporters demand release from solitary confinement
Supporters of Chelsea Manning have demanded her release from effective solitary confinement, in which she has been held for more than two weeks since being jailed for contempt of court.
“We condemn the solitary confinement that Chelsea Manning has been subjected to during her incarceration at William G Truesdale adult detention center,” a committee of supporters said in a statement on Saturday.
Manning has been held in administrative segregation, or “adseg”, with up to 22 hours each day spent in isolation, for the duration of her detention….
…Extended periods of solitary confinement “amount to torture”, according to the United Nations special rapporteur Juan Méndez, who has argued that “solitary confinement should be banned by states as a punishment or extortion technique”.
Manning’s supporters said: “Chelsea is a principled person, and she has made clear that while this kind of treatment will harm her, and will almost certainly leave lasting scars, it will never make her change her mind about cooperating with the grand jury”.
An interesting read and very true – when racists think no one is watching they say and do stuff they would normally, shamefully, hide. But imo it’s not the hiding that is the problem it is the attitudes in the first place – hidden or not hidden the attitudes hurt EVERYONE including the racists.
It wasn’t until I started studying the experiences of Māori English teachers working in secondary schools, for my PhD, that I began to think about how my students would have carried that information about colour into their everyday lives.
The Māori teachers who took part in my research gave me insights into the role that skin colour plays in state schooling, and cause to think about how I’m positioned by my brownness. Interestingly, although perhaps not surprisingly, it was the fair-skinned teachers who talked about experiencing interpersonal racism. Not one visibly Māori English teacher gave an example of direct racism.
One fair-skinned Māori teacher recalled how a fellow trainee at teacher’s training college, a Pākehā, confided in her that, everyone thinks “I would vote for Labour, but I vote for National because I am sick of all this Māori shit”.
Another fair-skinned teacher spoke of going home and crying after hearing a Pākehā colleague commenting that if Māori students “were able to answer their exams using bro language, then perhaps they would have more of a chance of passing”.
I attended Chelsea Mannings address in the Auckland Town Hall last year. In answer to a questions from the floor, about her experience in prison, Manning said, ‘To survive the prisoners had to band together to protect themselves from the violence of the prison guards.’
So I can understand Chelsea Mannings special anxiety about being confined in solitary.
Gordon Campbell on the potential for Ardern’s representation of human rights to Xi: “It is also difficult to imagine that even a moral lecture by a New Zealand PM would do much to improve the lot of the persecuted, or make the tyrants mend their ways.”
A moral lecture would be exactly the wrong thing to deliver! Guaranteed to offend! No, she would have to be diplomatic to induce progress. Start with this question: “What will have to change in China before it becomes possible to allow Chinese citizens civil rights?”
Xi then has the option of choosing to evade or answer the question. He may say “We are communists, so we will never allow civil rights here. The hive mind must always prevail over individual free-will. Our people will continue to do as they are told.”
If Prime Minister Ardern can stand up for Muslim human rights here, she should have the courage to stand up for Muslim human rights in China, or anywhere.
Big call, Ad! I predict that there will be no media report of her doing so. That may not mean she did not do so, of course. It may just mean that nobody in the media thought she would be so bold as to advocate civil rights for muslims to Xi – so they would be unlikely to think of asking her if she did that.
As I posted elsewhere, the international Muslim community largely supports China’s efforts in Xinjiang. It is Muslims themselves who understand best the horrors unleashed by religious extremism.
I think Muslim countries elsewhere remain quiet on the plight of the Uighurs in Xinjiang from self interest, not because they agree with them.
Many of these leaders are the recipients of Chinese bribes as part of the Silk Road initiative. Many of these countries are almost totally dependent on China for trade and aid.
Anyway, who cares what other Muslim countries think of this? Mass detention and forced ‘re-education’ is just plain evil.
Actually ad, I disagree with you. I believe Ardern is absolutely genuine. She is also a pragmatist, which I greatly admire in her. I am sure she will mention human rights, but let’s face it, as was the case with the Australian detention centers there was nothing she could do or say that would shift them. She has led by example. I believe that has the biggest power to influence
You are very black and white Ad. Remember, NZ generally does not interfere in another country’s internal affairs. However, the attack in NZ may give her an opening in her 10 hour widow. I think we have to stop asking for miracles though, and settle for a mortal woman doing her best.
If you are struck by the oddness of contemporary life, Strange Planet, a series of cartoons by Nathan Pyle, is worth a look. https://www.instagram.com/nathanwpyle/
Given that gangs are involved in the most gun crime and they are saying they won’t give up their guns – what’s going to be the reaction from Jacinda ?
She’s busy making normal law abiding citizens hand in theirs – she should come down on the gangs like a ton of bricks – but dollars to donuts she won’t.
Are you aware of Police operations in your area to make that kind of claim?
You need to back up what you are claiming.
Also, it would make sense for the Police to follow their stated police of enabling a gun amnesty, then awaiting the actual change of the law that they enforce before going in too much harder on semiautomatic gun owners who are gang members.
Or, as you expect, maybe the Police are now expected to enforce what a future law that isn’t even drafted is supposed to intend.
Remember that thing called the law?
It’s what the Police enforce.
Premature, James. Let the cops do their job, eh? If they fail, then the police minister would have to hold the commisioner accountable. It would only be appropriate for the PM to get involved if the normal processes of governance fail.
James there will be fines and even imprisonment for people who don’t hand in their guns……..I am not even sure of why you raised this other than to do a “but Jacinda …..”
Is this the approach agreed on in your trolling supervision session?
Successive Governments both Labour & National have done nothing to combat organized crime and the gangs here in NZ, to the point now, where the gangs in NZ are now heavily armed and control the drug trade here in NZ ?
They probably have the best lawyers and accountants advising them how to invest the proceeds from their business activities ie cleansing the proceeds of crime ?
The average New Zealand taxpayer picks up the costs of these gang activities, police time, judiciary time, prison time, mental health problems and the other associated social problems associated with drug dealing & distribution ?
James all the gangs in NZ are armed to the teeth they need the weapons to protect themselves from the other gangs, weapons and drugs are mutually inclusive if you are involved in the narcotics trade which most NZ gangs are ?
Alex Jones also believes that the US Givernment is involved in the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11 and Vaccines are deadly. Over the years there have been more than enough commentators on this site expressing the same sentiment. While the left like to class him as “alt right” (yawn…) the reality is he has views that fit all extremes of the political spectrum.
You mean he’s a populist? Next move then: establish the Alt-Right Party, run for president. Those alienated by the left & right were over 40% in a US poll I saw several months ago. Hoover them up & he can sail through the middle, side-lining the establishment no problem.
President Jones would be an exemplary demonstration of just how clever the policy of allowing mentally-ill folk to live in the community just like everyone else actually is. I anticipate a highly-entertaining presidency! Bring it on… 😎
Calling themselves the Alt-Right Party might offend the self-image of some of the voters that might otherwise go for them. Convergence Party might be a better name.
I didn’t notice the Amnesty scandal featuring onsite here, so I’ll post a follow-up report: “Following the suicide of a staff member, Amnesty commissioned an independent review of its company culture, which found that some of its staff have been victims of bullying, public humiliation, discrimination, and abuses of power, and that these issues threaten the organisation’s credibility.”
Amnesty head Kumi Naidoo began his role in August last year, and is looking to address these issues quickly. “Our organisation, set up in 1961, has added one layer of complexity after the other as it’s evolved, and to be honest we need a complete reorganising because, in fact, the very structure of Amnesty right now is a source of certain conflicts and tensions that we need to fix urgently,” he said.
He pointed out that Amnesty chose to make the report public, and that all seven members of its senior leadership team have accepted responsibility and offered to resign. To him, this transparency is a good first step.
“I am not saying it’s going to be easy for us to recalibrate and move forward with a healing approach, if you want, but the commitment is there from myself, the board, and all parts of the organisation and we are focused on acting on it,” he said. “One year won’t sort everything out. But the term ‘toxic’ is quite a loaded word. I think within a year, I want that word off the table.”
Gotta say, I’ve viewed Amnesty International as a deeply flawed organisation ever since they adopted Mumia Abu-Jamal as one of their poster-boys. Really, of the vast selection of people treated unjustly by justice systems, that’s one they chose to highlight?
Our very own Guantanamo prisoner. What happened to the rule of law and innocent to proven guilty? Make an exception in this case, and it will be the thin edge of the wedge. We can never pick and choose when the rule of law may or may not apply, no matter how appalling the crime maybe.
He is in solitary isolation in a 3 x 4m concrete and stainless steel box, with no natural light, for 24 hours a day (half hour in a wire cage a day in the open). Indefinitely. As he is on suicide watch, the lights will also be on 24 hours a day. This is standard in NZ for ‘at risk’ prisoners, but that is usually short term, not open ended.
Yes, this is for his own safety, but compounding his hell is that he is denied all visits, all outside media. This means no reading material, no opportunity to even hear another human voice except the three times a day he his fed his 1500 calories food per day. By the time of his trial (should he even receive one) his mental state will almost certainly be psychotic. We know this from other prisoners kept in solitary for extended periods.
There have already been many calls that he should not even receive a fair trial (like Kate Hawksby to name but one). Right to evidence? When someone is on remand, they are totally dependent on a lawyer and the whims of the Police as to what evidence they receive. Unbiased judge? There will almost certainly be political pressure applied to the judge.
Yeah. Guantanamo Bay. The crime was appalling. No question. But we do have a legal framework in NZ and it is fast being scrapped, like with the 16 year old kid in ChCh who was arrested on Thursday for sharing the killers video.
We rightly condemn the US actions in Guantanamo Bay, but I guess they would use the same justification as is being used here in NZ.
Oh fuck right off.
I can tell you that because of the extremely high profile of this guy everything will be done by the book because we all know that there’s plenty of wank stains out there just dying to put the boot into Corrections or sue Corrections or both just to make a name for themselves
What a load of shit. He gets outside for an hour and human company 3 times a day (albeit briefly). Not everyone falls to pieces without company. He was a recluse anyway so he’s just peachy keen.
So you think it would be fine for the yet to be convicted, or the convicted, to receive violence and rape? Gee, I thought we had moved into more enlightened times. Obviously not.
His total isolation from people (visitors who individually must be approved by Corrections which many any sympathizers will be weeded out), isolation of reading material. Keeping in a hole is a given at this point. The rest is unprecedented.
If you have difficulty to ‘ get my head around’ that, then I would kindly suggest you learn the art of reading and thinking. It really is not that hard, although I guess it is Sunday and often ones head is fuzzy on a Sunday morning.
He hasn’t been denied reading material so before you go pointing the finger at others I suggest you read your own link.
A Corrections spokesperson confirmed today that the man has “no access to television, radio or newspapers and has no approved visitors”.
It says nothing about books. He may even have access to pen and paper to further his literary career, who knows, but there’s nothing to suggest he’s undergoing some sort of sensory deprivation. And FYI, his complaint is in regard to visitors and phone calls, nothing else.
It’s certainly a post worthy subject, Peter. As this seems to be a good weekend for new writers, how about to you have a crack and send it to me? I’ll edit it, find some links and put it up as a guest post.
I am going to ask you to reconsider that offer of a post from peter of Chch re the gunmans human rights. See my comments below. I think the less airtime we give to the gunman the better. There are likely hundreds of others whose human rights are being violated. Better to do a post on them.
The gunman will have access to legal redress. Let that happen outside the public gaze
This is just my opinion but I would be extremely disappointed if the standard gave this guy any sort of oxygen. He is not worthy of such a post. Are human rights worthy of a post? Yes. Then cover someone else
Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote that the degree of civilisation in a society is revealed by entering its prisons. So I do think it’s relevant to discuss what the NZ minimum treatment of prisoners actually is (and that’s exactly what this guy deserves, the absolute minimum). My feeling is that at the moment, the authorities consider he remains a danger and communication with similar minded individuals in particular is putting others at risk. Again, guessing, but I would think they have looked at the Breivik trial and are learning lessons from that process.
Yes te reo. I am not saying punish the bastard etc etc. I just think let’s not give him any attention. The article is click bait. I choose to read the stories of the victims and the heroes.
I am going to ask you again not to publish anything about the gunman and his human rights.
If we need to do something on human rights in nz prisons, by all means. There has been the recent case of women and internal examinations . Maybe invite someone to take that up. Or get Arthur TAYLOR to do a guest post.
I would find it extremely disappointing if the standard offered a post about the gunman, his human rights or anything about him at all……..
Ok trp. Since you are one of the editors here I accept and understand such decisions are in your control.
I will have to see what Peter writes. I am not sure I agree with you that mine is a straw man’s arguement because Peter brought up the need for such an article in the context of a stuff article about his conditions and then further posted about the conditions themselves. I think it was reasonable for me to assume that an article by Peter would be abou/include the gunman. I do hope I am wrong about this.
I do actually trust that the gunman is being attended to in prison as set out in ours laws. I do hope that if people have concerns they will take those to their MPs or the human rights commission if they care about it enough.
The gunman has a very grim life ahead of him of that there is no doubt.
I prioritize my empathy and compassion for the innocent victims of this terrible crime. I also think it is important that we do everything to stop it happening again and the evidence I have heard to date is to starve him of any publicly whatsoever
Yep that would be the final nail for me. Fighting all the white fright here is too much. The racism on TS is chronic and not a safe space for anyone interested in indigenous rights. Very toxic environment at the moment.
Anyway this is our society, our world. For this country to truly embrace the wonderful change so needed, we need this group to lower themselves. Ha will they fuck. So the battle continues – we have change beginning – now time to build momentum!
Lol I am a shocker alright – and I’m not worried about you anymore am I? Maybe I’m not the big bad wolf after all – or maybe I am. I have exceptional intuition.
Marty, you’re also quite aware of yourself in various ways…and comfortable enough to call yourself out on it…and then apologise for it…
I would say that your intuition levels will likely match self awareness levels…
The more time we invest in self evaluating and seeking improvements in our own selves…is often matched with being able to interpret the world around us with deeper understanding…
maybe the article should not so much be about the white supremacist killer but rather of our prison conditions in itself, and how ineffective prison is in terms of reducing crime overall.
Did Andrew Little not speak about prison reform or has that been put on ice?
“New Zealand’s latest UN human rights review is being overseen by Brazil, Slovakia, and Saudi Arabia, despite the latter Arab kingdom being widely criticised over its human rights record, particularly in regards to women.”
“The final report on New Zealand’s human rights record in 2019 will be prepared by those three nations, known as the ‘troika’, with assistance from the UNHCR.” Should be a humdinger, eh?
The brilliance of the UN decision to include Saudi Arabia as critic must be acknowledged. Rarely do bureaucrats provide such exemplary instances of bureaucratic decision-making. You can imagine how mortified the eurocrats will be feeling, having been out-classed so easily.
I look foreword to seeing the inclusion of the Saudi Arabia input in the final draft: “must enforce sharia law”. Frantic masking attempts by others may be evident, and wouldn’t surprise me if “not enough amputations” is deleted.
Te Reo Putake, I am flat out this week work wise, but will do next week. This is something I feel very strongly about for personal and societal reasons.
so you want to make him the ‘man in the mask’? An object of future folklore, myth and legend?
if we don’t watch out, in ten years time when we commemorate the killed we will end up discussing with others if it happened, if the killer was white, a man, young, fairly rich etc etc and if that is not just something made up.
that is the other side of throwing people in an oubliette to satisfy our base needs for revenge.
We must never try and erase this from our memories even though we may want to. We can never separate the act from the actor and no matter how painful, not matter how disgusted we are, we have to find a way to deal with in a humane way that defines us as people.
A tendency to skip a fair trial process and deny the accused his basic human rights or do much worse (…) amounts to lowering us down to his level at which he butchered innocent people like animals with complete and utter disregard for their humanity. If we allow this to happen we will be a step closer to evil not a step away from it IMO.
He does have rights, the same we would all expect to get. However, if there are reasons, understandably due to the terrorist nature of his ‘alleged’ crimes, why he isn’t permitted phone calls and visitors, then that’s okay.
The last thing the country needs is for justice not to be seen to be done and some smart lawyer using errors to get this bag o shite off.
Fair arrest, fair trial, and hopefully whatever the NZ equivalent is of @ her majesty’s pleasure when it comes to a fair sentencing to ensure this murderer never walks amongst us again.
For sure. I’m a little confused when some commenters are saying his basic human rights are being abused when clearly they are not.
He’s well looked after. Better than many, many people in New Zealand right now.
As with many narcissistic psychopaths has chosen to represent himself and will have to apply for certain information in support of his defence. I guess he’ll have to be quite specific.
I agree, but to be honest, I don’t care if he gets above and beyond at this moment in time, just as long as it doesn’t affect the outcome of the trial.
He should still stand trial but absolute black should be in place and then off to prison as a number for the rest of his life . No one will forget it happened
And all the talk in the future will be about whether he got his human rights and his victims, the dead and injured and distressed people will be given cursory thought.
Peter Christchurch NZ
You remind me of The Clockwork Orange – a right little pervert and psychpath (is it all right to use that word?) is caught and all are shocked at the depravity of his actions and mind. Then after giving him aversion therapy and letting him out again feeling vulnerable public opinion swings around and is all weepy on his side. In the end he is unaverted?
If people can decide what is safe and reasonable control of this little shooter and sll of his ilk and keep him in prison till he is too old to shoot, if he isn’t going to have a death sentence, then we can stop worrying about him all and put that effort into whether some are in jail that could be worked with outside to turn their lives around, that would be good.
i doubt they will be forgotten. I really do. At least i don’t intend to forget them, and i would venture you don’t either.
But we already have people here in NZ and elsewhere denying that he is the killer, that the killing happened and so on and so on. So really the onus is on us to be accurate in our reporting, not only of the victims but also of the killer. At the end of it the killer will be nothing more then a footnote, albeit a footnote that can be fact checked. And so it should be.
He will be spending a lot of time in prison, but our society should also be measured how we treat the least among us. Unless really you suggest taht we do go back to the days hanging, drawing and quartering. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanged,_drawn_and_quartered
“The Act also states that these entitlements can be withheld “if there is an emergency in the prison or the security of the prison is threatened or if the health or safety of any person is threatened”.
A prison director may also deny a prisoner access to the minimum entitlements if they are in segregation “for purposes of security, good order, or safety; or for the purpose of protective custody”.”
Edit… Personally I’m more concerned that he is representing himself, Ted Bundy springs to mind….
Yes, that is the justification quite rightly used, but to deny all contact with other humans (visitors etc), and the outside world (TV – which can be and is restricted for some prisoners – for example exclusion of news channels which can now be done in prisons) (reading material etc), this is not justified. Mentally destroying him is not the punishment prescribed by our laws, particular for someone who is ‘innocent until proven guilty’.
The main issue is this regime is open ended, which I would be surprised has ever before been applied in NZ.
Age 16 I spent a week in the hole for saying ‘fuck’ to an officer. I was not allowed in my bed unless sleeping time because army corners and folds and creases… so sit on edge no stool, or sit on toilet… had no writing materials no reading materials no contact except meals arriving and being taken to a yard (concrete room, wire roof) to peel potatoes for several hours a day.
I do not think it was this experience that gave me concern for the system.
Quite the contrary, I had good time to reflect on my own idiocy rather than being yelled at and bullied all day in the camp. I also became a dab hand at peeling potatoes, and was effective helping Mum cater for church camps when I got out, whereas before I’d agree to help and drift off to smoke dope.
That loser in a cell overdosed on media. Thought he’d splash his horror to the world as a viral virus. He failed. He wants to see himself in print. He failed. May he be left to think about it for a very very long time.
Yeah I was going to read that article and then instead I read about the heroes of that day and the biographies of those who died. I had it in mind it would be good to launch a campaign for people to not click on anything to do with the gun man or the trial.
And put it on the list of abuse of human rights if you like. Amesty or a human rights lawyer can take it up if they like…..imho the shooter would be on the bottom of the list of causes to take up. I would prioritize a million people ahead of him. And if people do want to, please do it behind closed doors
Ank, I think a lot of the posters on here seem to be missing the point. It is in no way about HIM. As an individual, I really could not care too much. It is about the legal and moral rights of us all.
I certainly hope I never again read another post on TS criticizing the US action in Gitmo, as clearly the posters here thoroughly approve, as the US used the same justifications
I get where you are coming from, which is broadly the same as me. Only difference is as I keep saying, human rights are universal, even to those we despise, lest we become like those we despise.
… human rights are universal, even to those we despise, lest we become like those we despise.
QED
Indeed, defending his or any prisoner’s rights is not defending him or his actions – Golriz Ghahraman or any (Human Rights) lawyer for that matter can tell you that and remember how much flak she copped. FWIIW, he’s been accused, not yet (!) convicted.
At the same time, defending his rights, despite his alleged terrorist actions that killed 50 innocent people, is defending our humanity. People seem to overlook this aspect.
We have fought for Human Rights, for fair trials and justice, and a rule-based society with a democratically elected government. It is not perfect, far from it and there’s a lot of work to do, but we cannot let the actions of one man undo the hard work of many good people over many years to allow an equally barbaric mob rule dictate how we deal with this. The next step on our descend into chaos would be to all arm ourselves with guns …
Posted to Ecosophia, this excellent point on socialist economic policy, well-worth recycling here: “people get up to all kinds of positive things when they’re not obliged to chase the next meal. In the UK, many of the biggest and most famous music bands the country produced between the 60s and the 80s were only able to get started because of very lax rules about unemployment benefits.”
“Musicians would claim the dole and use that to live while they got up to speed with their skills. Sure, most bands that did that disappeared without trace, but the ones that made it big probably repaid the entire money spent in terms of soft power, taxes, etc. Similarly, one would expect to see more garage inventors hoping to be the next Apple or Microsoft. So, there are good arguments to hope that a UBI might pay for itself.” https://www.ecosophia.net/march-2019-open-post/
In a local context Helen Clarke’s government early 2000’s had a scheme, I forget the name, but basically artists could have a go at being artists with a benefit available.
There were hoops to jump through but not restrictive: workshop type places, at least in Auckland, where one could find assistance and encouragement, and be schooled in stuff like marketing, time management, and things collectively decided on.
I did not like the workshops so much but the freedom to concentrate on the arts, rather than feel obliged to seek full time work, really took a lot of pressure off.
In that climate I started touring comics. We had so much talent and so little work. I grabbed (some of) who I perceived to be promising and took them to small towns who loved hosting us. Many of those ‘long term unemployed’ given a bit of leeway from that period are now full time writing acting and performing comedy, satire, chat, other media…
Some are a big deal, and have elevated NZ’s profile on the world stage.
In the bigger picture, for this cohort, lending artists some rope worked. It stands to reason creatives in many fields would benefit from taking the pressure off aka UBI.
Good feedback, WTB. So it worked here too. Govt policies that have been proven to work are the best ones to recycle – or re-apply in different contexts.
I’d like to see coalition + Greens advocating a UBI on this basis. Rarely do contributors to public discussion of socialism provide such examples of how it can work in practice, to serve our common interests & enhance the common good.
Best way forward would be to signal a UBI stakeholder conference for their second term, with the intention of establishing a bipartisan consensus, and campaign on that basis next year.
Greens are looking at how a UBI, can work.
Many practicalities to work through
For one, the cost is immediate, but the benefits could take more than the normal political cycle.
Especially as it means the wealthy would have to pay taxes. The CGT, shows how well that goes down.
Labour has been inept for years marketing the CGT. I expect the coalition to demonstrate more finesse. I hope James will take the lead in explaining how to create the essential centrist consensus to secure the public buy-in (only needs around 60% of voters to feel the overall design is unproblematic).
The crucial thing to make the consensus happen is to get the mix right (I’d include ftt, pollution taxes). Bake a cake that most people like eating. So the design of the recipe is what they must focus on getting right first. Palatability will then hinge on reduction of income tax sufficiently to enable voters to see the mix as a fair deal…
Polls show the majority agree with a CGT.
Anything which reversed the almost 50% tax cuts, the well off had had since the 80’s, was always going to get massive kick back and propaganda.
Labour has been missing in action about the need for taxes, for decades.
They had their chance recently of linking deteriorating hospitals, waiting lists, more expensive services to repeated tax cuts.
But senior members of the Labour cabinet are still fixated on Neo-Liberal, trickle down.
“During a recent trip to the southern Texas county of Hidalgo, where barriers are currently under construction, she was struck most by the numbness she encountered. “Nobody speaks about it,” she said, apart from anti-wall activists. In Brownsville, Texas, near a former Walmart where children are now detained, diners at a McDonald’s ignored the calamity next door; residents throughout the region had lost track of whether the monitoring towers above them, designed to track movements on the ground, were operative. At the same time, the sense of being watched was pervasive. Locals warned her not to speed because, they said, the area was crawling with law-enforcement officers. “The mental illness related to the wall is also related to the surveillance that goes with it,” Vallet told me. Such surveillance is part of the dystopian atmosphere that walls create.”
Immanuel Kant was an influential German philosopher. In his view, the mind shapes and structures experience, with all human experience sharing certain structural features… …Kant’s views continue to have a major influence on contemporary philosophy, especially the fields of epistemology, ethics, political theory, and post-modern aesthetics.
Philosophy Tube is a great channel with very informative videos about philosophy, it’s history and it’s ramifications. This video discusses the often-unmentioned history of racism and bigotry in the philosophy of Kant, one of the philosophers with the greatest impact on modern thought. It’s a long one (with a bad Australian accent in the cold open), but well worth it.
I am going to put out the call for no articles to appear on the Standard about the gunman, his trial or his human rights. If people such as Peter are so very concerned about this take it to Andrew little or his local MP.
In all honesty what is an article on the standard going to achieve. It is not going to get someone in the position of power to change the gunmans circumstances. We can “debate on the Standard all we like, but that doesn’t change anything in the real world.
Peter you are entitled to be concerned about the gunman. But if your concern is genuine, take some action that might led to change. Don’t raise it here. Nothing will come of it. Nothing can come of it.
[Yeah, nah. TS authors will write whatever they want to, whenever they want to. And you are putting words in Peter’s mouth. If he chooses to write a post, it should be addressed on its merits, not on your strawman positing of what he is going to write before he has even written it. Final point, the terrorist’s judicial rights are my rights and yours too. He will be treated according to NZ law, which is as it should be. TRP]
Ok trp. Since you are one of the editors here I accept and understand such decisions are in your control.
I will have to see what Peter writes. I am not sure I agree with you that mine is a straw man’s arguement because Peter brought up the need for such an article in the context of a stuff article about his conditions and then further posted about the conditions themselves. I think it was reasonable for me to assume that an article by Peter would be abou/include the gunman. I do hope I am wrong about this.
I do actually trust that the gunman is being attended to in prison as set out in ours laws. I do hope that if people have concerns they will take those to their MPs or the human rights commission if they care about it enough.
The gunman has a very grim life ahead of him of that there is no doubt.
I prioritize my empathy and compassion for the innocent victims of this terrible crime. I also think it is important that we do everything to stop it happening again and the evidence I have heard to date is to starve him of any publicly whatsoever
Ok trp. Since you are one of the editors here I accept and understand such decisions are in your control.
I think you misunderstand how TS functions. Authors have almost full autonomy over their posts and don’t need ‘approval’ from Editors (I happen to be an Editor, whatever that means).
It is a very sensitive issue that’ll require very careful wording and I’d highly recommend proofreading by others before publication to avoid chaos …
Personally, I think it would be good to pry open some minds – please keep in mind that for every commenter here there are many more ‘silent’ readers (AKA lurkers) – but I think the risks are too high with uncertain benefits …
So do you have any suggestions.
TRP has asked Peter to email an article to him/her. “The authors of The Standard will write whatever they want to whenever they want to”
I have asked that we don’t write about the gunman, but it seems that trp doesn’t agree.
An editor compared to an author has an ability to edit posts and comments in names other than their own.
Incognito has it mostly because of their service in making sure we get Open Mike each day. It means that “notices and features” can be set as the author rather than “Incognito”.
Normally editor status is given to allow moderation of comments for other authors posts.
I (as super-admin) get involved when editors start modifying or removing posts from other contributors / authors / editors / admins. It is a sure sign that we have a inter-personal problem. But it has been worth leaving in to make sure that if something really goes wrong, it can be dealt with fast.
Authors have almost full autonomy over their posts and don’t need ‘approval’ from Editors
Mike and I tend to be the “almost”. But TRP is correct about the
TS authors will write whatever they want to, whenever they want to
… that is the way that we have run the site for the last decade. I’ll get concerned about legal issues since I’m the one who gets that frame. Over the decade there have been a few issues that I have dealt with – rapidly and with extreme prejudice. But generally there have been bugger all of those. The authors want to publish here.
Similarly there have been various ideological disagreements. Generally I tend to leave these to be dealt with robust discussions between authors or commentators and authors.
But commentators can’t trash authors because the site needs them to provide well written and argued starter topics. Since the foremost reason for authors to stop doing that is getting stupidly abused by commentators (other authors know how damn hard it is – so tend not to), moderators are ruthless at discouraging author trashing.
But commentators can disagree with authors posts- they just have to be able to do it with rational arguments that largely avoid the personal attacks. Sometimes witty denigration about someone who could hold those ideas mixed in with arguments can get past that – but it is a matter of risk to those making the comments.
But outside of those bounds we run either complete freedom for authors, or they don’t have author access.
Ankerrawshark could ask if authors would like to not write about the gunman. It is up to authors if they want to.
It’s worth noting here that in a historic context there is good reason to think it was Islam itself which introduced the concept of ‘everyone as equals before the law’ into the West.
For much of our prior history the underlying idea behind kingship (or the local equivalent) was broadly modeled as ‘God’s representative on earth’. It’s why monarchs held absolute power, placed themselves above it, and were able to exempt themselves from it. It’s why killing the king was a special category of crime, above and beyond the usual murder.
By contrast Muhammad explicitly placed the idea of ‘the submission of all to God’ at the centre of his doctrine. And critically made the political rulers equally subject to the law as anyone else. This was one of the major innovations which made the early Muslim empire so successful and enlightened for the era.
History strongly suggests that the West adopted this idea from the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and over the course of the Renaissance extended it to embrace the modern legal system of rights and responsibilities, inalienable from the dignity and worth of every individual.
In my view, the idea of universal human rights originate from Islam. It would a terribly irony if we were to now walk back from them, in the name of honouring this Muslim victims of this terror.
Just an update, although others may have heard this sooner. The gunman has made a formal complaint. I trust it will be taken seriously and whatever the appropriate action (including nothing changes) , will be taken
Stephen Moore, the economics commentator chosen by Donald Trump for a seat on the Federal Reserve board, was found in contempt of court after failing to pay his ex-wife hundreds of thousands of dollars in alimony, child support and other debts.
Trump’s Federal Reserve pick owes $75,000 in taxes, US government alleges
Court records in Virginia obtained by the Guardian show Moore, 59, was reprimanded by a judge in November 2012 for failing to pay Allison Moore more than $300,000 in spousal support, child support and money owed under their divorce settlement.
Divert attention from one crisis by exacerbating the problems driving another crisis.
In a decision that may have the opposite effect of its intended impact, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has followed President Trump’s direction and ordered the State Department to cut off U.S. aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Mr. Trump indicated on Friday he would be cutting aid to the countries as punishment for their inability to stem the flow of migrants heading to the southern U.S. border. The countries affected make up the so-called “Northern Triangle” and account for the majority of Central American migrants who are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Interesting. Notice how both Morgan & Simmons avoid the elephant in this room: why he resigned. Perusing the top 10 policies, I feel the mix is quite good, but not really good enough. Vernon Tava seems to have formed the same opinion, but it remains to be seen whether his effort to target the same market is any better.
Morgan made it clear right from the very early days that if TOP did not get over the 5% threshold in 2017 he would not hang about making a nuisance of himself. He put this in one of TOP’s early newsletters I used to get, long before the election.
There’s no need to postulate some nefarious reason for his withdrawal, Morgan’s just following through on what he said he would do.
Okay, but it still seems like a repudiation of his creation! Does he not even comprehend the concept of political support?? Is he really `my way or the highway’ – a narcissist? Or have they adopted principles and policies he is opposed to? That would explain it better.
That’s what I was getting at. It would be interesting to know. The impression he’s leaving in the public mind is that he lacks character – or sufficient judgment to realise that folks will wonder if he is merely a dilettante. Reputational risk…
I’ve never met Morgan, but I’m still donating to a UNICEF project he kickstarted back sometime in 2005 maybe, that was building water supply systems in third world countries.
Back then the approach was the same, he’d match dollar for dollar donations up to a certain limit (several million IIRC) and then let his creation forge it’s own path with the initial momentum he had given it. And more than a decade later it’s still taking my money and sending the odd email telling me what it’s doing with it.
Morgan’s relationship with TOP is entirely consistent with this. He’s definitely a non-standard character, and I get that many people don’t gell with him at all.
It’s often said that we all stand on the shoulders of giants as we make progress; Morgan has more of knack of standing on their toes 🙂
Go away and take your stupid exploitation tools with you is my wish.
“Offshore deep-water oil and gas exploration drilling in the Great South Basin is back on the cards, after Austrian-owned OMV applied for a marine consent to operate in the southern ocean.
No final decision has been made on drilling in the Great South Basin, which lies to the east and far south of Dunedin, but a rig to be used for drilling in Taranaki could come south.”
Kia ora Newshub big fire at Hamilton dump Rotorua rubbish goes there to.
I Say Winston is correct Bruni is going backwards with its human rights laws WTF.
With China if you live in a glass house don’t throw stones Eco Maori says.
Paddy the police force will never admit they are wrong stop chacing young children they will just flee. It’s a natural response for tamariki.
Facebook any publicity is good publicity?????????????.
Thanks to Jan for this law that Wahine will get 10 days pay for family violence some Wahine are trapped in bad relationship and need all the help they can get to break the violence cycle in some families Ka pai.
That is cool a army NZ force with out guns in Bogenvile awesome.
Ka kite ano. P.S some people think they can Pukana Eco Maori with no consequence
Kia ora Te ao Maori News
Its a sad day when a Wahine has to sell her Whare to raise money for her childs health care hope they running a givealittle page as well.
It good they are getting donations from Te tangata.
I Back having more Maori at selected committees and other important discussion happing around the motu they don’t understand were we are coming from in a lot of OUR consenrns we will need big – – – – to educated the people who run NZ.
Its cool that the announcement for Shearing are trying to get how Maori names are pronounced
The minamim wage went up to ka pai Ka kite ano
Kia ora The AM Show The minamim pay rise of $1.17 a hour rise is needed the cost of living has gone through the roof business need to be innovative to get more income to pay for it.
I SEE you and your ausse m8 having fun at my expense duncan Ma te wa Australia has some of the best conditions in the world for green solar and wind power but scotmo is OWNED by the oil barron he is backing carbon even when green energy is cheaper green energy does not use much water carbon use heaps on the dryest country in the world you think he would try and save water for the Australian environment. The people with familys get a child benefit the young and the old people with no children are struggling as they don’t get that subserdise state services the benefits system put these 2 groups of people at a disadvantage it mite be a bit hard for a ighty to grasp that reality. The Tauranga Street sleeper ban new law is kicking someone when they are down I sure its better to use the carrot and not the stick in most situations the Tauranga council should be helping there people not kicking them
NO need to comment on simon I don’t kick a person when they are down. That a very interesting debate pizza when we have storms wreaking countries that is the issue you should be taking about GLOBAL WARMING CLIMATE CHANGE. The oil barron money must be sweet Sips is doing a crap job they need a total over haul and have more Maori tikanga . Ka kite ano
Eco Maori agrees that climate change is going to have a major impact on MAORI and the rest of the common poor tangata
Climate change to have ‘significant impact’ on Māori businesses
Leaders in iwi and Māori fisheries are worried about climate change and how badly it may hit them. ka kite ano P.S did you see the pizza show
Here you go Whanau another case that lets the common person know that the wealthy make our LAWS TO serve them first THEYnever admit LIABILITY CHEATS
Who is paying for Monsanto’s crimes? We are A US court ordered Monsanto to pay $80m in damages because it hid cancer risks. That’s a small consolation for victims
While Bayer may dole out a few billion dollars in damages, who is really being made to pay?’ Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
The chickens are coming home to roost, as they say in farm country.
For the second time in less than eight months a US jury has found that decades of scientific evidence demonstrates a clear cancer connection to Monsanto’s line of top-selling Roundup herbicides, which are used widely by consumers and farmers. Twice now jurors have additionally determined that the company’s own internal records show Monsanto has intentionally manipulated the public record to hide the cancer risks. Both juries found punitive damages were warranted because the company’s cover-up of cancer risks was so egregious. Ka kite ano links below.
Kia ora Newshub
I give my condolences to the whano who lost there love ones in those automobile accidents.
I think it’s is good that OUR Prime minister is in China as for the Huawei I don’t see a problem with China tec I see trump is behind the propergander plan and simply.
Who built a dump by Tangaroa even if they built it 30 years ago.
Yes it sad about the environment desaster in The Solomon Islands.
News Hub its cool you are telling the story about CMV virus it sounds like quite a bad virus that affects hupu Wahine that is not well published very much
You see how the authorities treat Maori communities with the rail bridge deaths they class Maori as fools that’s their argument for not slowing the trains going over the bridge if it was a wealth part of town all the stops to lower the risk would be pulled out to save their tamariki. Ka kite ano
Kia ora Te ao Maori News
Tangata whenua O Atoearoa have much in common with the Chinese tangata they open the biggest NZ embassy in China to. Meng Foon is retireing from the Gisborne mayor’s office thanks for all the years of service to Te tairawhiti.
I just hope that the teachers are doing the correct thing.??????????????????.
All the best to our sports Stars. Ka kite ano
That’s cool that Disney on Ice is going to be using te reo I told you Whanau Maori culture is receiving Great recognition from the rest of Papatuanukue Ka kite ano
Kia ora The AM Show.
China has lifted hundreds of millions of there tangata out of poverty that speak a thousand words to Me.
I will give te whanau good advice about secess NEVER GIVE UP.
The $1000 Kiwi save is good but it need to be asset tested and capped as I know every wealth child’s is in Kiwi saver there parents accountant’s sign them up and they don’t need it I’m trying to get some people to put there tamariki savings into Kiwi saver I will keep trying there ears don’t work because of the Eco Maori effect.
I Back the climate change streakers in the gallery glueing there hands to the building good move to highlight climate change.
The crown is spending millions trying to keep a lid on Eco Maori. I have figured out that they are NOTHING TO in comparison ME. It’s going to be a good Autobiography lol.
Winston yes you have to have trust one also has to have your EYES Wide OPEN to whats is happening around Te Papatuanukue when assessing and applying that trust.
duncan you are prepositions the crown to break the human IGHTS Laws we need to make those laws stronger not weaker.
The weather around Te Papatuanukue has been very extreme we have just had one of the hottest years on record that gives Tawhirirmate more Mana.
All Aotearoa state vehicle fleet should be changed to electric vehicles they have the money to aim for the longterm fuel saving from electric and our Mokopunas environment needs to be saved. Good on the army involved in repairing the west coast bridge that Tawhirirmate broke it would be nice to see that kind of commitment to transport in Te tairawhiti and Te tai tokerou.?????????????????????Ka kite ano P.S Mokopuna dutys
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute Whanau the cops used the christchurch desaster to get there boss to aloud them to Apply emence INTIMADATION Pressure on ECO MAORI but they got Jack as usual.
Whanau you know NZ is classified as the 2nd least courpt country in the world YEA RIGHT what about Maori.
We die 10 to 20 years earlier than others we have the poorest people in the land we have the worst health Stats of any people in NZ OUR country Children are taken off family by the state In the highest numbers of any other people our children are abuse in large numbers by states people our education rates are low unemployment is the highest in the land We have the highest number of Women and men in jail in the WORLD. The rule classes try a blame this on Maori YEA RIGHT JUST A BIG LIE it’s instertutional racism at its best its that good the ruling classes LIE they have a lot of Maori covenced that if a Maori works hard head down ass up be good be nice to the neighbours you will be able to climb up to great heights on your LADDERs OF LIFE yea right not when you get tripped up at every corner by the cheating cops they will interfair in your work your personal life financially anyway they can stuff you up they will do it and not blink a EYE
What’s Worst is that the cops are breaking my right they are shitting on my family that I have built over 32 years. All the pollies know all the people in the know do to all the media people know what the cops are doing there dirty tricks on me. It doesn’t matter they are just MAORI WHO CARES so much for HONESTY it Is instertutional racism at it BEST in honest little NZ
Kia ora Newshub.
david seenothing star gazing
His opinion on the automatic gun ban is just about vote grabbing.
More roofing fraud the dirty buggers can’t help themselves robbing the innocent people.
I have said what I wanted last night on China and Aotearoa.
WTF someone using Maori to get publicity to promote their bait computer hack to get people to open the app and it gets to load it computer viruses Ka kite ano
Kia ora Maori television looks like you don’t want Eco Maori Tau toko because the cops are trying to brand Eco Maori like the shitty story about the people with ankle Bracelets on Ka kite ano. P.S the cop are breaking all the laws interviewing my whanau and playing with them as they don’t know the law they have no credible evidence to be able to get a warrant to investigate my whanau I’m going to SUE THERE ASSS OFF
Nash the police give the gangs time on the news the police have their own controls on NZ media hows – – – – was it good I see all
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
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You could hardly describe the Republican Party as being soft on crime. Unless of course it is a war crime.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-navy-seal-accused-of-war-crimes-to-be-moved-to-less-restrictive-confinement?cmpid=prn_msn
Now I am the last to say that Eddie Gallagher should be treated unfairly or denied proper access to his legal defence team
Justice is supposed to be blind
Compare the case of Eddie Gallagher to another veteran who served their country, who also languishes in prison.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/23/chelsea-manning-jail-solitary-confinement-wikileaks
An interesting read and very true – when racists think no one is watching they say and do stuff they would normally, shamefully, hide. But imo it’s not the hiding that is the problem it is the attitudes in the first place – hidden or not hidden the attitudes hurt EVERYONE including the racists.
https://e-tangata.co.nz/reflections/the-pros-and-cons-of-not-looking-maori/
I attended Chelsea Mannings address in the Auckland Town Hall last year. In answer to a questions from the floor, about her experience in prison, Manning said, ‘To survive the prisoners had to band together to protect themselves from the violence of the prison guards.’
So I can understand Chelsea Mannings special anxiety about being confined in solitary.
Gordon Campbell on the potential for Ardern’s representation of human rights to Xi: “It is also difficult to imagine that even a moral lecture by a New Zealand PM would do much to improve the lot of the persecuted, or make the tyrants mend their ways.”
A moral lecture would be exactly the wrong thing to deliver! Guaranteed to offend! No, she would have to be diplomatic to induce progress. Start with this question: “What will have to change in China before it becomes possible to allow Chinese citizens civil rights?”
Xi then has the option of choosing to evade or answer the question. He may say “We are communists, so we will never allow civil rights here. The hive mind must always prevail over individual free-will. Our people will continue to do as they are told.”
He may say “We have a five-year plan for that. We have many five-year plans! So many are in the pipeline at any one time that I really cannot tell you which one will emerge from the end of the pipe first, let alone second, third, fourth, or etc.”
http://werewolf.co.nz/2019/03/gordon-campbell-on-the-human-rights-dimension-of-jacinda-arderns-visit-to-china/
If Prime Minister Ardern can stand up for Muslim human rights here, she should have the courage to stand up for Muslim human rights in China, or anywhere.
If she doesn’t she is a fraud.
Big call, Ad! I predict that there will be no media report of her doing so. That may not mean she did not do so, of course. It may just mean that nobody in the media thought she would be so bold as to advocate civil rights for muslims to Xi – so they would be unlikely to think of asking her if she did that.
As I posted elsewhere, the international Muslim community largely supports China’s efforts in Xinjiang. It is Muslims themselves who understand best the horrors unleashed by religious extremism.
I think Muslim countries elsewhere remain quiet on the plight of the Uighurs in Xinjiang from self interest, not because they agree with them.
Many of these leaders are the recipients of Chinese bribes as part of the Silk Road initiative. Many of these countries are almost totally dependent on China for trade and aid.
Anyway, who cares what other Muslim countries think of this? Mass detention and forced ‘re-education’ is just plain evil.
… the international Muslim community largely supports China’s efforts in Xinjiang. [citation needed]
Actually ad, I disagree with you. I believe Ardern is absolutely genuine. She is also a pragmatist, which I greatly admire in her. I am sure she will mention human rights, but let’s face it, as was the case with the Australian detention centers there was nothing she could do or say that would shift them. She has led by example. I believe that has the biggest power to influence
You mean in the same way the deputy PM stood up to Erdogan? By taking a nap?
?
Shadrach ….not worth replying to
You are very black and white Ad. Remember, NZ generally does not interfere in another country’s internal affairs. However, the attack in NZ may give her an opening in her 10 hour widow. I think we have to stop asking for miracles though, and settle for a mortal woman doing her best.
He may say, ‘human rights in socialist paradise are best praxis in world, in WORLD,’ franky. What you say then?
Amen.
The thing is, most Chinese are fine with having no civil rights.
If you are struck by the oddness of contemporary life, Strange Planet, a series of cartoons by Nathan Pyle, is worth a look. https://www.instagram.com/nathanwpyle/
“Do you want to trap carbon dioxide in ephemeral spheres?”
“For what purpose?”
“Enjoyment.”
Thank you Stuart Munro…just what was needed at towards the end of one of those days.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12217785
Given that gangs are involved in the most gun crime and they are saying they won’t give up their guns – what’s going to be the reaction from Jacinda ?
She’s busy making normal law abiding citizens hand in theirs – she should come down on the gangs like a ton of bricks – but dollars to donuts she won’t.
That would be too hard.
Are you aware of Police operations in your area to make that kind of claim?
You need to back up what you are claiming.
Also, it would make sense for the Police to follow their stated police of enabling a gun amnesty, then awaiting the actual change of the law that they enforce before going in too much harder on semiautomatic gun owners who are gang members.
Or, as you expect, maybe the Police are now expected to enforce what a future law that isn’t even drafted is supposed to intend.
Remember that thing called the law?
It’s what the Police enforce.
Premature, James. Let the cops do their job, eh? If they fail, then the police minister would have to hold the commisioner accountable. It would only be appropriate for the PM to get involved if the normal processes of governance fail.
You reckon she should go round and grab them jimbo?
Gabby lol perfect response to James’s
James there will be fines and even imprisonment for people who don’t hand in their guns……..I am not even sure of why you raised this other than to do a “but Jacinda …..”
Is this the approach agreed on in your trolling supervision session?
Successive Governments both Labour & National have done nothing to combat organized crime and the gangs here in NZ, to the point now, where the gangs in NZ are now heavily armed and control the drug trade here in NZ ?
They probably have the best lawyers and accountants advising them how to invest the proceeds from their business activities ie cleansing the proceeds of crime ?
The average New Zealand taxpayer picks up the costs of these gang activities, police time, judiciary time, prison time, mental health problems and the other associated social problems associated with drug dealing & distribution ?
James all the gangs in NZ are armed to the teeth they need the weapons to protect themselves from the other gangs, weapons and drugs are mutually inclusive if you are involved in the narcotics trade which most NZ gangs are ?
Natrad this morning….Insight feature on our appalling Rheumatic Fever rates…a disease that almost exclusively blights Maori and Pacifica peoples.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/2018686731/nz-s-heart-breaker-rheumatic-fever-rates-on-the-rise
Probably the closest Alex Jones has come to telling the truth in quite a while:
Infowars host blamed his mental state on the ‘trauma of the media and the corporations lying’, according to a deposition
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/30/alex-jones-sandy-hook-claims-psychosis?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
So Alex Jones blamed his own psychosis on himself because he is a liar who runs his own powerful media corporation.
Guilty as charged your honour.
Nailed it Ad.
Alex Jones also believes that the US Givernment is involved in the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11 and Vaccines are deadly. Over the years there have been more than enough commentators on this site expressing the same sentiment. While the left like to class him as “alt right” (yawn…) the reality is he has views that fit all extremes of the political spectrum.
You mean he’s a populist? Next move then: establish the Alt-Right Party, run for president. Those alienated by the left & right were over 40% in a US poll I saw several months ago. Hoover them up & he can sail through the middle, side-lining the establishment no problem.
President Jones would be an exemplary demonstration of just how clever the policy of allowing mentally-ill folk to live in the community just like everyone else actually is. I anticipate a highly-entertaining presidency! Bring it on… 😎
Calling themselves the Alt-Right Party might offend the self-image of some of the voters that might otherwise go for them. Convergence Party might be a better name.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BCtXQt2CYAA1wLA.jpg
Good point. Might have to do a `nudge nudge, wink wink’ routine to suck in the alt-right. Nice graphic you got there!
Moonbat/Wingnut has a certain je ne c’est quoi to it, eh? From a branding perspective it could be the best bet! People go for wacky stuff big-time…
Probably right on 9/11 ?
I believe so.
Poor Alex.
https://twitter.com/thegoodgodabove/status/1112091561473593351
“you’re all pissed because you got one extra chromosome”
😆 And you’re an angry old white dude because you got one less 😆
FDOTM nails it as usual
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/29/good-to-hear-one-nation-doesnt-want-our-gun-laws-relaxed-it-certainly-sounded-like-it-did
I’m a little confused.
The farmer/Imam interviewed here…https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/countrylife/audio/2018688779/farming-and-faith-southland-dairy-farmer-and-spiritual-leader-reza-abdul-jabbar stated quite categorically the 51 people were murdered by the terrorist on the 15th. We received an email from an organization in Christchurch the other day also stating quite categorically that 51 people were murdered.
Yet all other reports say 50 people were murdered.
Which is correct?
Why would the figure be inconsistently published…
Surely there is a ‘single point of truth’…
Yes indeed One Two, one would think so. Especially when counting the fallen.
I flummoxed and confused.
This may be why
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12217794
I didn’t notice the Amnesty scandal featuring onsite here, so I’ll post a follow-up report: “Following the suicide of a staff member, Amnesty commissioned an independent review of its company culture, which found that some of its staff have been victims of bullying, public humiliation, discrimination, and abuses of power, and that these issues threaten the organisation’s credibility.”
“The report surveyed hundreds of employees as part of its investigation and found widespread mismanagement and a “toxic” work environment. According to the report, 39 percent of staff had developed mental or physical health issues because of working there, and 65 percent didn’t believe their well-being was a priority for Amnesty.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2019/03/amnesty-international-fix-toxic-work-culture-190328163244025.html
Amnesty head Kumi Naidoo began his role in August last year, and is looking to address these issues quickly. “Our organisation, set up in 1961, has added one layer of complexity after the other as it’s evolved, and to be honest we need a complete reorganising because, in fact, the very structure of Amnesty right now is a source of certain conflicts and tensions that we need to fix urgently,” he said.
He pointed out that Amnesty chose to make the report public, and that all seven members of its senior leadership team have accepted responsibility and offered to resign. To him, this transparency is a good first step.
“I am not saying it’s going to be easy for us to recalibrate and move forward with a healing approach, if you want, but the commitment is there from myself, the board, and all parts of the organisation and we are focused on acting on it,” he said. “One year won’t sort everything out. But the term ‘toxic’ is quite a loaded word. I think within a year, I want that word off the table.”
Gotta say, I’ve viewed Amnesty International as a deeply flawed organisation ever since they adopted Mumia Abu-Jamal as one of their poster-boys. Really, of the vast selection of people treated unjustly by justice systems, that’s one they chose to highlight?
There are a lot of very disturbing things happening since the ChCh massacre. This is one.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12217805
Our very own Guantanamo prisoner. What happened to the rule of law and innocent to proven guilty? Make an exception in this case, and it will be the thin edge of the wedge. We can never pick and choose when the rule of law may or may not apply, no matter how appalling the crime maybe.
Come on TS! An article on this is important
What entitlement under law is he being denied?
Right to a fair trial?
Right to represent himself?
Right to evidence?
Right to an unbiased judge?
Right not to be shot while praying?
Thought not.
100% Ad
He is in solitary isolation in a 3 x 4m concrete and stainless steel box, with no natural light, for 24 hours a day (half hour in a wire cage a day in the open). Indefinitely. As he is on suicide watch, the lights will also be on 24 hours a day. This is standard in NZ for ‘at risk’ prisoners, but that is usually short term, not open ended.
Yes, this is for his own safety, but compounding his hell is that he is denied all visits, all outside media. This means no reading material, no opportunity to even hear another human voice except the three times a day he his fed his 1500 calories food per day. By the time of his trial (should he even receive one) his mental state will almost certainly be psychotic. We know this from other prisoners kept in solitary for extended periods.
There have already been many calls that he should not even receive a fair trial (like Kate Hawksby to name but one). Right to evidence? When someone is on remand, they are totally dependent on a lawyer and the whims of the Police as to what evidence they receive. Unbiased judge? There will almost certainly be political pressure applied to the judge.
Yeah. Guantanamo Bay. The crime was appalling. No question. But we do have a legal framework in NZ and it is fast being scrapped, like with the 16 year old kid in ChCh who was arrested on Thursday for sharing the killers video.
We rightly condemn the US actions in Guantanamo Bay, but I guess they would use the same justification as is being used here in NZ.
Oh fuck right off.
I can tell you that because of the extremely high profile of this guy everything will be done by the book because we all know that there’s plenty of wank stains out there just dying to put the boot into Corrections or sue Corrections or both just to make a name for themselves
Peter you did read the whole article from the herald?
Did you catch my comment at 11.6?
What a load of shit. He gets outside for an hour and human company 3 times a day (albeit briefly). Not everyone falls to pieces without company. He was a recluse anyway so he’s just peachy keen.
Well I certainly wouldn’t want this chap feeling isolated and lonely …I d have no problem with him being in general population 🙂
So you think it would be fine for the yet to be convicted, or the convicted, to receive violence and rape? Gee, I thought we had moved into more enlightened times. Obviously not.
You are the only one suggesting violence and rape Peter, no one else has mentioned it. JS
The implications of Barfly post are pretty clear to me, even if not to you.
Am well versed with corrections and what happens in prison Peter. But that’s not the point.
Its Barflys point.
So you think it’s cruel keeping him in the hole, but that it would be even crueler in general population?
Will check back later, trying to get my head around where you are coming from.
His total isolation from people (visitors who individually must be approved by Corrections which many any sympathizers will be weeded out), isolation of reading material. Keeping in a hole is a given at this point. The rest is unprecedented.
If you have difficulty to ‘ get my head around’ that, then I would kindly suggest you learn the art of reading and thinking. It really is not that hard, although I guess it is Sunday and often ones head is fuzzy on a Sunday morning.
He hasn’t been denied reading material so before you go pointing the finger at others I suggest you read your own link.
A Corrections spokesperson confirmed today that the man has “no access to television, radio or newspapers and has no approved visitors”.
It says nothing about books. He may even have access to pen and paper to further his literary career, who knows, but there’s nothing to suggest he’s undergoing some sort of sensory deprivation. And FYI, his complaint is in regard to visitors and phone calls, nothing else.
Breivik had a similar complaint:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/anders-breivik-norway-mass-murderer-appeal-european-human-rights-court-oslo-strasbourg-a8409861.html
It’s certainly a post worthy subject, Peter. As this seems to be a good weekend for new writers, how about to you have a crack and send it to me? I’ll edit it, find some links and put it up as a guest post.
tereoputake@gmail.com
And that’s an open invitation, folks. TS is always happy to look at publishing contributed posts.
Actually Te Reo Putake
I am going to ask you to reconsider that offer of a post from peter of Chch re the gunmans human rights. See my comments below. I think the less airtime we give to the gunman the better. There are likely hundreds of others whose human rights are being violated. Better to do a post on them.
The gunman will have access to legal redress. Let that happen outside the public gaze
This is just my opinion but I would be extremely disappointed if the standard gave this guy any sort of oxygen. He is not worthy of such a post. Are human rights worthy of a post? Yes. Then cover someone else
Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote that the degree of civilisation in a society is revealed by entering its prisons. So I do think it’s relevant to discuss what the NZ minimum treatment of prisoners actually is (and that’s exactly what this guy deserves, the absolute minimum). My feeling is that at the moment, the authorities consider he remains a danger and communication with similar minded individuals in particular is putting others at risk. Again, guessing, but I would think they have looked at the Breivik trial and are learning lessons from that process.
Yes te reo. I am not saying punish the bastard etc etc. I just think let’s not give him any attention. The article is click bait. I choose to read the stories of the victims and the heroes.
I am going to ask you again not to publish anything about the gunman and his human rights.
If we need to do something on human rights in nz prisons, by all means. There has been the recent case of women and internal examinations . Maybe invite someone to take that up. Or get Arthur TAYLOR to do a guest post.
I would find it extremely disappointing if the standard offered a post about the gunman, his human rights or anything about him at all……..
+100
Arthur Taylor! Are you serious???? I get the very clear impression that your knowledge of prisons and prisoners is somewhat thin.
Ok trp. Since you are one of the editors here I accept and understand such decisions are in your control.
I will have to see what Peter writes. I am not sure I agree with you that mine is a straw man’s arguement because Peter brought up the need for such an article in the context of a stuff article about his conditions and then further posted about the conditions themselves. I think it was reasonable for me to assume that an article by Peter would be abou/include the gunman. I do hope I am wrong about this.
I do actually trust that the gunman is being attended to in prison as set out in ours laws. I do hope that if people have concerns they will take those to their MPs or the human rights commission if they care about it enough.
The gunman has a very grim life ahead of him of that there is no doubt.
I prioritize my empathy and compassion for the innocent victims of this terrible crime. I also think it is important that we do everything to stop it happening again and the evidence I have heard to date is to starve him of any publicly whatsoever
Yep that would be the final nail for me. Fighting all the white fright here is too much. The racism on TS is chronic and not a safe space for anyone interested in indigenous rights. Very toxic environment at the moment.
Marty Mars I was going to say that too. Giving the gunman and space on this site would be the last straw for me too.
Yep its times like these I really miss weka.
Anyway this is our society, our world. For this country to truly embrace the wonderful change so needed, we need this group to lower themselves. Ha will they fuck. So the battle continues – we have change beginning – now time to build momentum!
Marty, you’re chronically rude and abusive to others here…
Abuse levels, are far above your claims of racism on this site…
Perhaps if you stopped name calling and believing you’re ‘in a fight’…it could assist with your anger levels…
And how you view/treat others at the blog…
Lol I am a shocker alright – and I’m not worried about you anymore am I? Maybe I’m not the big bad wolf after all – or maybe I am. I have exceptional intuition.
Marty, you’re also quite aware of yourself in various ways…and comfortable enough to call yourself out on it…and then apologise for it…
I would say that your intuition levels will likely match self awareness levels…
The more time we invest in self evaluating and seeking improvements in our own selves…is often matched with being able to interpret the world around us with deeper understanding…
Have a great Sunday arvo…
Too true you have a good one too one two.
We are not giving HIM the airtime. It is about the legal rights we ALL are entitled to.
Isn’t Arthur Taylor a proponent of prisoner legal rights?
maybe the article should not so much be about the white supremacist killer but rather of our prison conditions in itself, and how ineffective prison is in terms of reducing crime overall.
Did Andrew Little not speak about prison reform or has that been put on ice?
That’s exactly the content I would be hoping for, Sabine.
Here’s Andrew Little on things as they currently stand: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/01/new-zealand-s-justice-system-is-broken-andrew-little-tells-united-nations.html
Yep Sabine and Te Reo Putake, that is the issue. Not him per se.
“New Zealand’s latest UN human rights review is being overseen by Brazil, Slovakia, and Saudi Arabia, despite the latter Arab kingdom being widely criticised over its human rights record, particularly in regards to women.”
“The final report on New Zealand’s human rights record in 2019 will be prepared by those three nations, known as the ‘troika’, with assistance from the UNHCR.” Should be a humdinger, eh?
The brilliance of the UN decision to include Saudi Arabia as critic must be acknowledged. Rarely do bureaucrats provide such exemplary instances of bureaucratic decision-making. You can imagine how mortified the eurocrats will be feeling, having been out-classed so easily.
I look foreword to seeing the inclusion of the Saudi Arabia input in the final draft: “must enforce sharia law”. Frantic masking attempts by others may be evident, and wouldn’t surprise me if “not enough amputations” is deleted.
Te Reo Putake, I am flat out this week work wise, but will do next week. This is something I feel very strongly about for personal and societal reasons.
Good as gold, Peter.
If anybody else wants to write a post on the matter, the offer is open to all.
I’d be willing to share some inside stories, but only within a tasteful framework.
Solitary confinement sounds good. He’s guilty mate.
so you want to make him the ‘man in the mask’? An object of future folklore, myth and legend?
if we don’t watch out, in ten years time when we commemorate the killed we will end up discussing with others if it happened, if the killer was white, a man, young, fairly rich etc etc and if that is not just something made up.
that is the other side of throwing people in an oubliette to satisfy our base needs for revenge.
Na erasing him personally from history is a deterrent to the next psycho gun nut seeking fame .
I’m finding myself having a lot of sympathy for that view.
Agreed. His legend won’t grow from being erased from history – it’ll be just that, erased.
It certainly would grow if his followers were allowed access in order to distribute his white supremacist views though.
That would legitimise his actions which is what we are all against unless I’m mistaken.
Bwaghorn, Marty Mars in complete agreement
Completely and utterly disagree!
We must never try and erase this from our memories even though we may want to. We can never separate the act from the actor and no matter how painful, not matter how disgusted we are, we have to find a way to deal with in a humane way that defines us as people.
A tendency to skip a fair trial process and deny the accused his basic human rights or do much worse (…) amounts to lowering us down to his level at which he butchered innocent people like animals with complete and utter disregard for their humanity. If we allow this to happen we will be a step closer to evil not a step away from it IMO.
What are ‘his basic human rights’?
He’s getting food, water, clothing and warm dry shelter. That’s more than many NZ citizens right now.
He does have rights, the same we would all expect to get. However, if there are reasons, understandably due to the terrorist nature of his ‘alleged’ crimes, why he isn’t permitted phone calls and visitors, then that’s okay.
The last thing the country needs is for justice not to be seen to be done and some smart lawyer using errors to get this bag o shite off.
Fair arrest, fair trial, and hopefully whatever the NZ equivalent is of @ her majesty’s pleasure when it comes to a fair sentencing to ensure this murderer never walks amongst us again.
For sure. I’m a little confused when some commenters are saying his basic human rights are being abused when clearly they are not.
He’s well looked after. Better than many, many people in New Zealand right now.
As with many narcissistic psychopaths has chosen to represent himself and will have to apply for certain information in support of his defence. I guess he’ll have to be quite specific.
I agree, but to be honest, I don’t care if he gets above and beyond at this moment in time, just as long as it doesn’t affect the outcome of the trial.
Damnatio memoriae -and let the prick fade into obscurity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damnatio_memoriae
Many of those living on the streets are not being that well looked after, he should count himself lucky and it is FOC ?
Yeah, perhaps his punishment should be to live like the bottom end of NZ society. Pretty sure he’d be gagging to get back into solitary at Paremoremo.
He should still stand trial but absolute black should be in place and then off to prison as a number for the rest of his life . No one will forget it happened
And all the talk in the future will be about whether he got his human rights and his victims, the dead and injured and distressed people will be given cursory thought.
Peter Christchurch NZ
You remind me of The Clockwork Orange – a right little pervert and psychpath (is it all right to use that word?) is caught and all are shocked at the depravity of his actions and mind. Then after giving him aversion therapy and letting him out again feeling vulnerable public opinion swings around and is all weepy on his side. In the end he is unaverted?
If people can decide what is safe and reasonable control of this little shooter and sll of his ilk and keep him in prison till he is too old to shoot, if he isn’t going to have a death sentence, then we can stop worrying about him all and put that effort into whether some are in jail that could be worked with outside to turn their lives around, that would be good.
Victims do not count in this day and age it’s all about prisoner’s rights ?
i doubt they will be forgotten. I really do. At least i don’t intend to forget them, and i would venture you don’t either.
But we already have people here in NZ and elsewhere denying that he is the killer, that the killing happened and so on and so on. So really the onus is on us to be accurate in our reporting, not only of the victims but also of the killer. At the end of it the killer will be nothing more then a footnote, albeit a footnote that can be fact checked. And so it should be.
He will be spending a lot of time in prison, but our society should also be measured how we treat the least among us. Unless really you suggest taht we do go back to the days hanging, drawing and quartering. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanged,_drawn_and_quartered
Correction’s motivations for putting him in this situation would be mostly for his own safety and the safety of other people in the institution.
If he was put into the general prison population he’d be crying that corrections aren’t looking after his safety and security.
“If he was put into the general prison population he’d be [dead already]”
FIFY.
Also from the same article Peter,
“The Act also states that these entitlements can be withheld “if there is an emergency in the prison or the security of the prison is threatened or if the health or safety of any person is threatened”.
A prison director may also deny a prisoner access to the minimum entitlements if they are in segregation “for purposes of security, good order, or safety; or for the purpose of protective custody”.”
Edit… Personally I’m more concerned that he is representing himself, Ted Bundy springs to mind….
Yes, that is the justification quite rightly used, but to deny all contact with other humans (visitors etc), and the outside world (TV – which can be and is restricted for some prisoners – for example exclusion of news channels which can now be done in prisons) (reading material etc), this is not justified. Mentally destroying him is not the punishment prescribed by our laws, particular for someone who is ‘innocent until proven guilty’.
The main issue is this regime is open ended, which I would be surprised has ever before been applied in NZ.
I doubt that being chucked in the hole up at ‘pari’ is anything like Guantanamo Bay.
Anyways, I’m outta here, got jobs to do, and have paid more than enough attention to said topic atm.
Enjoy your day, the weather is stunning.
Maybe you should talk to some people who have been there. They would differ in their views, and that is without the almost total sensory deprivation.
Age 16 I spent a week in the hole for saying ‘fuck’ to an officer. I was not allowed in my bed unless sleeping time because army corners and folds and creases… so sit on edge no stool, or sit on toilet… had no writing materials no reading materials no contact except meals arriving and being taken to a yard (concrete room, wire roof) to peel potatoes for several hours a day.
I do not think it was this experience that gave me concern for the system.
Quite the contrary, I had good time to reflect on my own idiocy rather than being yelled at and bullied all day in the camp. I also became a dab hand at peeling potatoes, and was effective helping Mum cater for church camps when I got out, whereas before I’d agree to help and drift off to smoke dope.
That loser in a cell overdosed on media. Thought he’d splash his horror to the world as a viral virus. He failed. He wants to see himself in print. He failed. May he be left to think about it for a very very long time.
Good call
Peter of Chch
Yeah I was going to read that article and then instead I read about the heroes of that day and the biographies of those who died. I had it in mind it would be good to launch a campaign for people to not click on anything to do with the gun man or the trial.
And put it on the list of abuse of human rights if you like. Amesty or a human rights lawyer can take it up if they like…..imho the shooter would be on the bottom of the list of causes to take up. I would prioritize a million people ahead of him. And if people do want to, please do it behind closed doors
Ank, I think a lot of the posters on here seem to be missing the point. It is in no way about HIM. As an individual, I really could not care too much. It is about the legal and moral rights of us all.
I certainly hope I never again read another post on TS criticizing the US action in Gitmo, as clearly the posters here thoroughly approve, as the US used the same justifications
Then don’t do an article on him. Do one on human rights abuses in nz prisons about others
I get where you are coming from, which is broadly the same as me. Only difference is as I keep saying, human rights are universal, even to those we despise, lest we become like those we despise.
QED
Indeed, defending his or any prisoner’s rights is not defending him or his actions – Golriz Ghahraman or any (Human Rights) lawyer for that matter can tell you that and remember how much flak she copped. FWIIW, he’s been accused, not yet (!) convicted.
At the same time, defending his rights, despite his alleged terrorist actions that killed 50 innocent people, is defending our humanity. People seem to overlook this aspect.
We have fought for Human Rights, for fair trials and justice, and a rule-based society with a democratically elected government. It is not perfect, far from it and there’s a lot of work to do, but we cannot let the actions of one man undo the hard work of many good people over many years to allow an equally barbaric mob rule dictate how we deal with this. The next step on our descend into chaos would be to all arm ourselves with guns …
Posted to Ecosophia, this excellent point on socialist economic policy, well-worth recycling here: “people get up to all kinds of positive things when they’re not obliged to chase the next meal. In the UK, many of the biggest and most famous music bands the country produced between the 60s and the 80s were only able to get started because of very lax rules about unemployment benefits.”
“Musicians would claim the dole and use that to live while they got up to speed with their skills. Sure, most bands that did that disappeared without trace, but the ones that made it big probably repaid the entire money spent in terms of soft power, taxes, etc. Similarly, one would expect to see more garage inventors hoping to be the next Apple or Microsoft. So, there are good arguments to hope that a UBI might pay for itself.”
https://www.ecosophia.net/march-2019-open-post/
In a local context Helen Clarke’s government early 2000’s had a scheme, I forget the name, but basically artists could have a go at being artists with a benefit available.
There were hoops to jump through but not restrictive: workshop type places, at least in Auckland, where one could find assistance and encouragement, and be schooled in stuff like marketing, time management, and things collectively decided on.
I did not like the workshops so much but the freedom to concentrate on the arts, rather than feel obliged to seek full time work, really took a lot of pressure off.
In that climate I started touring comics. We had so much talent and so little work. I grabbed (some of) who I perceived to be promising and took them to small towns who loved hosting us. Many of those ‘long term unemployed’ given a bit of leeway from that period are now full time writing acting and performing comedy, satire, chat, other media…
Some are a big deal, and have elevated NZ’s profile on the world stage.
In the bigger picture, for this cohort, lending artists some rope worked. It stands to reason creatives in many fields would benefit from taking the pressure off aka UBI.
Good feedback, WTB. So it worked here too. Govt policies that have been proven to work are the best ones to recycle – or re-apply in different contexts.
I’d like to see coalition + Greens advocating a UBI on this basis. Rarely do contributors to public discussion of socialism provide such examples of how it can work in practice, to serve our common interests & enhance the common good.
Best way forward would be to signal a UBI stakeholder conference for their second term, with the intention of establishing a bipartisan consensus, and campaign on that basis next year.
Greens are looking at how a UBI, can work.
Many practicalities to work through
For one, the cost is immediate, but the benefits could take more than the normal political cycle.
Especially as it means the wealthy would have to pay taxes. The CGT, shows how well that goes down.
Labour has been inept for years marketing the CGT. I expect the coalition to demonstrate more finesse. I hope James will take the lead in explaining how to create the essential centrist consensus to secure the public buy-in (only needs around 60% of voters to feel the overall design is unproblematic).
The crucial thing to make the consensus happen is to get the mix right (I’d include ftt, pollution taxes). Bake a cake that most people like eating. So the design of the recipe is what they must focus on getting right first. Palatability will then hinge on reduction of income tax sufficiently to enable voters to see the mix as a fair deal…
Polls show the majority agree with a CGT.
Anything which reversed the almost 50% tax cuts, the well off had had since the 80’s, was always going to get massive kick back and propaganda.
Labour has been missing in action about the need for taxes, for decades.
They had their chance recently of linking deteriorating hospitals, waiting lists, more expensive services to repeated tax cuts.
But senior members of the Labour cabinet are still fixated on Neo-Liberal, trickle down.
Mental illness and walls.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/do-walls-change-how-we-think?utm_social-type=owned&utm_medium=social&mbid=social_facebook&utm_brand=tny&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1-8vk_B_MxEpJD7madycno18-c6RahlmIQ6ISrzpCO3dwlxpOQRMK7_uQ
“During a recent trip to the southern Texas county of Hidalgo, where barriers are currently under construction, she was struck most by the numbness she encountered. “Nobody speaks about it,” she said, apart from anti-wall activists. In Brownsville, Texas, near a former Walmart where children are now detained, diners at a McDonald’s ignored the calamity next door; residents throughout the region had lost track of whether the monitoring towers above them, designed to track movements on the ground, were operative. At the same time, the sense of being watched was pervasive. Locals warned her not to speed because, they said, the area was crawling with law-enforcement officers. “The mental illness related to the wall is also related to the surveillance that goes with it,” Vallet told me. Such surveillance is part of the dystopian atmosphere that walls create.”
http://shorthand.radionz.co.nz/remember-the-heroes/index.htmlI
This is really worth reading. Heart breaking. And also inspirational stories of people’s bravery and courage.
Link sans the appended figure.
http://shorthand.radionz.co.nz/remember-the-heroes/index.html
Philosophy Tube is a great channel with very informative videos about philosophy, it’s history and it’s ramifications. This video discusses the often-unmentioned history of racism and bigotry in the philosophy of Kant, one of the philosophers with the greatest impact on modern thought. It’s a long one (with a bad Australian accent in the cold open), but well worth it.
I am going to put out the call for no articles to appear on the Standard about the gunman, his trial or his human rights. If people such as Peter are so very concerned about this take it to Andrew little or his local MP.
In all honesty what is an article on the standard going to achieve. It is not going to get someone in the position of power to change the gunmans circumstances. We can “debate on the Standard all we like, but that doesn’t change anything in the real world.
Peter you are entitled to be concerned about the gunman. But if your concern is genuine, take some action that might led to change. Don’t raise it here. Nothing will come of it. Nothing can come of it.
[Yeah, nah. TS authors will write whatever they want to, whenever they want to. And you are putting words in Peter’s mouth. If he chooses to write a post, it should be addressed on its merits, not on your strawman positing of what he is going to write before he has even written it. Final point, the terrorist’s judicial rights are my rights and yours too. He will be treated according to NZ law, which is as it should be. TRP]
Ok trp. Since you are one of the editors here I accept and understand such decisions are in your control.
I will have to see what Peter writes. I am not sure I agree with you that mine is a straw man’s arguement because Peter brought up the need for such an article in the context of a stuff article about his conditions and then further posted about the conditions themselves. I think it was reasonable for me to assume that an article by Peter would be abou/include the gunman. I do hope I am wrong about this.
I do actually trust that the gunman is being attended to in prison as set out in ours laws. I do hope that if people have concerns they will take those to their MPs or the human rights commission if they care about it enough.
The gunman has a very grim life ahead of him of that there is no doubt.
I prioritize my empathy and compassion for the innocent victims of this terrible crime. I also think it is important that we do everything to stop it happening again and the evidence I have heard to date is to starve him of any publicly whatsoever
I think you misunderstand how TS functions. Authors have almost full autonomy over their posts and don’t need ‘approval’ from Editors (I happen to be an Editor, whatever that means).
It is a very sensitive issue that’ll require very careful wording and I’d highly recommend proofreading by others before publication to avoid chaos …
Personally, I think it would be good to pry open some minds – please keep in mind that for every commenter here there are many more ‘silent’ readers (AKA lurkers) – but I think the risks are too high with uncertain benefits …
Thanks incognito.
So do you have any suggestions.
TRP has asked Peter to email an article to him/her. “The authors of The Standard will write whatever they want to whenever they want to”
I have asked that we don’t write about the gunman, but it seems that trp doesn’t agree.
An editor compared to an author has an ability to edit posts and comments in names other than their own.
Incognito has it mostly because of their service in making sure we get Open Mike each day. It means that “notices and features” can be set as the author rather than “Incognito”.
Normally editor status is given to allow moderation of comments for other authors posts.
I (as super-admin) get involved when editors start modifying or removing posts from other contributors / authors / editors / admins. It is a sure sign that we have a inter-personal problem. But it has been worth leaving in to make sure that if something really goes wrong, it can be dealt with fast.
Mike and I tend to be the “almost”. But TRP is correct about the
… that is the way that we have run the site for the last decade. I’ll get concerned about legal issues since I’m the one who gets that frame. Over the decade there have been a few issues that I have dealt with – rapidly and with extreme prejudice. But generally there have been bugger all of those. The authors want to publish here.
Similarly there have been various ideological disagreements. Generally I tend to leave these to be dealt with robust discussions between authors or commentators and authors.
But commentators can’t trash authors because the site needs them to provide well written and argued starter topics. Since the foremost reason for authors to stop doing that is getting stupidly abused by commentators (other authors know how damn hard it is – so tend not to), moderators are ruthless at discouraging author trashing.
But commentators can disagree with authors posts- they just have to be able to do it with rational arguments that largely avoid the personal attacks. Sometimes witty denigration about someone who could hold those ideas mixed in with arguments can get past that – but it is a matter of risk to those making the comments.
But outside of those bounds we run either complete freedom for authors, or they don’t have author access.
Ankerrawshark could ask if authors would like to not write about the gunman. It is up to authors if they want to.
I completely accept that iprent
It’s worth noting here that in a historic context there is good reason to think it was Islam itself which introduced the concept of ‘everyone as equals before the law’ into the West.
For much of our prior history the underlying idea behind kingship (or the local equivalent) was broadly modeled as ‘God’s representative on earth’. It’s why monarchs held absolute power, placed themselves above it, and were able to exempt themselves from it. It’s why killing the king was a special category of crime, above and beyond the usual murder.
By contrast Muhammad explicitly placed the idea of ‘the submission of all to God’ at the centre of his doctrine. And critically made the political rulers equally subject to the law as anyone else. This was one of the major innovations which made the early Muslim empire so successful and enlightened for the era.
History strongly suggests that the West adopted this idea from the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and over the course of the Renaissance extended it to embrace the modern legal system of rights and responsibilities, inalienable from the dignity and worth of every individual.
In my view, the idea of universal human rights originate from Islam. It would a terribly irony if we were to now walk back from them, in the name of honouring this Muslim victims of this terror.
Just an update, although others may have heard this sooner. The gunman has made a formal complaint. I trust it will be taken seriously and whatever the appropriate action (including nothing changes) , will be taken
Swamping the drain.
Stephen Moore, the economics commentator chosen by Donald Trump for a seat on the Federal Reserve board, was found in contempt of court after failing to pay his ex-wife hundreds of thousands of dollars in alimony, child support and other debts.
Trump’s Federal Reserve pick owes $75,000 in taxes, US government alleges
Court records in Virginia obtained by the Guardian show Moore, 59, was reprimanded by a judge in November 2012 for failing to pay Allison Moore more than $300,000 in spousal support, child support and money owed under their divorce settlement.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/30/trump-stephen-moore-federal-reserve-board?
I just wonder if there is actually anyone this “president” has picked for public service that hasn’t been before the courts for one crime or other.
Well, state capture organised crime does require criminals.
Classic! …or will be before the courts.
Divert attention from one crisis by exacerbating the problems driving another crisis.
In a decision that may have the opposite effect of its intended impact, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has followed President Trump’s direction and ordered the State Department to cut off U.S. aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Mr. Trump indicated on Friday he would be cutting aid to the countries as punishment for their inability to stem the flow of migrants heading to the southern U.S. border. The countries affected make up the so-called “Northern Triangle” and account for the majority of Central American migrants who are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/state-department-cuts-off-aid-to-el-salvador-guatemala-and-honduras/?
Morgan takes his ball home as Top sets up to flop again.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/111679703/tops-money-plan-now-financial-backer-gareth-morgan-is-gone
Interesting. Notice how both Morgan & Simmons avoid the elephant in this room: why he resigned. Perusing the top 10 policies, I feel the mix is quite good, but not really good enough. Vernon Tava seems to have formed the same opinion, but it remains to be seen whether his effort to target the same market is any better.
Morgan made it clear right from the very early days that if TOP did not get over the 5% threshold in 2017 he would not hang about making a nuisance of himself. He put this in one of TOP’s early newsletters I used to get, long before the election.
There’s no need to postulate some nefarious reason for his withdrawal, Morgan’s just following through on what he said he would do.
Okay, but it still seems like a repudiation of his creation! Does he not even comprehend the concept of political support?? Is he really `my way or the highway’ – a narcissist? Or have they adopted principles and policies he is opposed to? That would explain it better.
That’s what I was getting at. It would be interesting to know. The impression he’s leaving in the public mind is that he lacks character – or sufficient judgment to realise that folks will wonder if he is merely a dilettante. Reputational risk…
I’ve never met Morgan, but I’m still donating to a UNICEF project he kickstarted back sometime in 2005 maybe, that was building water supply systems in third world countries.
Back then the approach was the same, he’d match dollar for dollar donations up to a certain limit (several million IIRC) and then let his creation forge it’s own path with the initial momentum he had given it. And more than a decade later it’s still taking my money and sending the odd email telling me what it’s doing with it.
Morgan’s relationship with TOP is entirely consistent with this. He’s definitely a non-standard character, and I get that many people don’t gell with him at all.
It’s often said that we all stand on the shoulders of giants as we make progress; Morgan has more of knack of standing on their toes 🙂
The Cat Killer pulling the pin ?
Go away and take your stupid exploitation tools with you is my wish.
“Offshore deep-water oil and gas exploration drilling in the Great South Basin is back on the cards, after Austrian-owned OMV applied for a marine consent to operate in the southern ocean.
No final decision has been made on drilling in the Great South Basin, which lies to the east and far south of Dunedin, but a rig to be used for drilling in Taranaki could come south.”
https://www.odt.co.nz/business/deep-water-prospecting-may-resume
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/111581226/getting-along-with-your-drunk-uncle-in-the-new-normalhttps://www.stuff.co.nz/national/111581226/getting-along-with-your-drunk-uncle-in-the-new-normal
Well if you’re after the redneck, racist vote for political survival, who else to give it to apart from national or nz1st.
“Christchurch crackdown could provide opening for ACT to increase meagre support”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/111646197/christchurch-crackdown-could-provide-opening-for-act-to-increase-meagre-support
Kia ora Newshub big fire at Hamilton dump Rotorua rubbish goes there to.
I Say Winston is correct Bruni is going backwards with its human rights laws WTF.
With China if you live in a glass house don’t throw stones Eco Maori says.
Paddy the police force will never admit they are wrong stop chacing young children they will just flee. It’s a natural response for tamariki.
Facebook any publicity is good publicity?????????????.
Thanks to Jan for this law that Wahine will get 10 days pay for family violence some Wahine are trapped in bad relationship and need all the help they can get to break the violence cycle in some families Ka pai.
That is cool a army NZ force with out guns in Bogenvile awesome.
Ka kite ano. P.S some people think they can Pukana Eco Maori with no consequence
Agree + 100% Eco Maori
Kia ora Te ao Maori News
Its a sad day when a Wahine has to sell her Whare to raise money for her childs health care hope they running a givealittle page as well.
It good they are getting donations from Te tangata.
I Back having more Maori at selected committees and other important discussion happing around the motu they don’t understand were we are coming from in a lot of OUR consenrns we will need big – – – – to educated the people who run NZ.
Its cool that the announcement for Shearing are trying to get how Maori names are pronounced
The minamim wage went up to ka pai Ka kite ano
Likewise Agree + 100%
Kia ora The AM Show The minamim pay rise of $1.17 a hour rise is needed the cost of living has gone through the roof business need to be innovative to get more income to pay for it.
I SEE you and your ausse m8 having fun at my expense duncan Ma te wa Australia has some of the best conditions in the world for green solar and wind power but scotmo is OWNED by the oil barron he is backing carbon even when green energy is cheaper green energy does not use much water carbon use heaps on the dryest country in the world you think he would try and save water for the Australian environment. The people with familys get a child benefit the young and the old people with no children are struggling as they don’t get that subserdise state services the benefits system put these 2 groups of people at a disadvantage it mite be a bit hard for a ighty to grasp that reality. The Tauranga Street sleeper ban new law is kicking someone when they are down I sure its better to use the carrot and not the stick in most situations the Tauranga council should be helping there people not kicking them
NO need to comment on simon I don’t kick a person when they are down. That a very interesting debate pizza when we have storms wreaking countries that is the issue you should be taking about GLOBAL WARMING CLIMATE CHANGE. The oil barron money must be sweet Sips is doing a crap job they need a total over haul and have more Maori tikanga . Ka kite ano
Eco Maori agrees that climate change is going to have a major impact on MAORI and the rest of the common poor tangata
Climate change to have ‘significant impact’ on Māori businesses
Leaders in iwi and Māori fisheries are worried about climate change and how badly it may hit them. ka kite ano P.S did you see the pizza show
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/385786/climate-change-to-have-significant-impact-on-maori-businesses
Here you go Whanau another case that lets the common person know that the wealthy make our LAWS TO serve them first THEYnever admit LIABILITY CHEATS
Who is paying for Monsanto’s crimes? We are A US court ordered Monsanto to pay $80m in damages because it hid cancer risks. That’s a small consolation for victims
While Bayer may dole out a few billion dollars in damages, who is really being made to pay?’ Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
The chickens are coming home to roost, as they say in farm country.
For the second time in less than eight months a US jury has found that decades of scientific evidence demonstrates a clear cancer connection to Monsanto’s line of top-selling Roundup herbicides, which are used widely by consumers and farmers. Twice now jurors have additionally determined that the company’s own internal records show Monsanto has intentionally manipulated the public record to hide the cancer risks. Both juries found punitive damages were warranted because the company’s cover-up of cancer risks was so egregious. Ka kite ano links below.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/30/who-is-paying-for-monsantos-crimes-we-are
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/aujvc3SVKpc
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
Kia ora Newshub
I give my condolences to the whano who lost there love ones in those automobile accidents.
I think it’s is good that OUR Prime minister is in China as for the Huawei I don’t see a problem with China tec I see trump is behind the propergander plan and simply.
Who built a dump by Tangaroa even if they built it 30 years ago.
Yes it sad about the environment desaster in The Solomon Islands.
News Hub its cool you are telling the story about CMV virus it sounds like quite a bad virus that affects hupu Wahine that is not well published very much
You see how the authorities treat Maori communities with the rail bridge deaths they class Maori as fools that’s their argument for not slowing the trains going over the bridge if it was a wealth part of town all the stops to lower the risk would be pulled out to save their tamariki. Ka kite ano
Kia ora Te ao Maori News
Tangata whenua O Atoearoa have much in common with the Chinese tangata they open the biggest NZ embassy in China to. Meng Foon is retireing from the Gisborne mayor’s office thanks for all the years of service to Te tairawhiti.
I just hope that the teachers are doing the correct thing.??????????????????.
All the best to our sports Stars. Ka kite ano
That’s cool that Disney on Ice is going to be using te reo I told you Whanau Maori culture is receiving Great recognition from the rest of Papatuanukue Ka kite ano
Kia ora The AM Show.
China has lifted hundreds of millions of there tangata out of poverty that speak a thousand words to Me.
I will give te whanau good advice about secess NEVER GIVE UP.
The $1000 Kiwi save is good but it need to be asset tested and capped as I know every wealth child’s is in Kiwi saver there parents accountant’s sign them up and they don’t need it I’m trying to get some people to put there tamariki savings into Kiwi saver I will keep trying there ears don’t work because of the Eco Maori effect.
I Back the climate change streakers in the gallery glueing there hands to the building good move to highlight climate change.
The crown is spending millions trying to keep a lid on Eco Maori. I have figured out that they are NOTHING TO in comparison ME. It’s going to be a good Autobiography lol.
Winston yes you have to have trust one also has to have your EYES Wide OPEN to whats is happening around Te Papatuanukue when assessing and applying that trust.
duncan you are prepositions the crown to break the human IGHTS Laws we need to make those laws stronger not weaker.
The weather around Te Papatuanukue has been very extreme we have just had one of the hottest years on record that gives Tawhirirmate more Mana.
All Aotearoa state vehicle fleet should be changed to electric vehicles they have the money to aim for the longterm fuel saving from electric and our Mokopunas environment needs to be saved. Good on the army involved in repairing the west coast bridge that Tawhirirmate broke it would be nice to see that kind of commitment to transport in Te tairawhiti and Te tai tokerou.?????????????????????Ka kite ano P.S Mokopuna dutys
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute Whanau the cops used the christchurch desaster to get there boss to aloud them to Apply emence INTIMADATION Pressure on ECO MAORI but they got Jack as usual.
https://youtu.be/hlfQVvsNLFk
PS I haven’t even Changed my simcard Eco Maori has nothing to hide
Whanau you know NZ is classified as the 2nd least courpt country in the world YEA RIGHT what about Maori.
We die 10 to 20 years earlier than others we have the poorest people in the land we have the worst health Stats of any people in NZ OUR country Children are taken off family by the state In the highest numbers of any other people our children are abuse in large numbers by states people our education rates are low unemployment is the highest in the land We have the highest number of Women and men in jail in the WORLD. The rule classes try a blame this on Maori YEA RIGHT JUST A BIG LIE it’s instertutional racism at its best its that good the ruling classes LIE they have a lot of Maori covenced that if a Maori works hard head down ass up be good be nice to the neighbours you will be able to climb up to great heights on your LADDERs OF LIFE yea right not when you get tripped up at every corner by the cheating cops they will interfair in your work your personal life financially anyway they can stuff you up they will do it and not blink a EYE
What’s Worst is that the cops are breaking my right they are shitting on my family that I have built over 32 years. All the pollies know all the people in the know do to all the media people know what the cops are doing there dirty tricks on me. It doesn’t matter they are just MAORI WHO CARES so much for HONESTY it Is instertutional racism at it BEST in honest little NZ
https://youtu.be/iqeOTg2a-l8
Kia ora Newshub.
david seenothing star gazing
His opinion on the automatic gun ban is just about vote grabbing.
More roofing fraud the dirty buggers can’t help themselves robbing the innocent people.
I have said what I wanted last night on China and Aotearoa.
WTF someone using Maori to get publicity to promote their bait computer hack to get people to open the app and it gets to load it computer viruses Ka kite ano
Kia ora Maori television looks like you don’t want Eco Maori Tau toko because the cops are trying to brand Eco Maori like the shitty story about the people with ankle Bracelets on Ka kite ano. P.S the cop are breaking all the laws interviewing my whanau and playing with them as they don’t know the law they have no credible evidence to be able to get a warrant to investigate my whanau I’m going to SUE THERE ASSS OFF
Nash the police give the gangs time on the news the police have their own controls on NZ media hows – – – – was it good I see all