Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: These things we must now change

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  • Craig Young,

    The US LGBT Advocate publication applauded New Zealand's prompt military style semi-automatic weapon ban, and provided a poignant parallel. New Zealand cared enough to demand that after the coldblooded brutal slaughter of fifty Muslims at the two mosques, and the government acted promptly to remedy the situation. However, Equality Florida's Brandon Wolf (who has been organising solidarity vigils in that US state) has said that while Ardern has shown true leadership, both the United States and Florida still have ridiculously libertarian firearms legislation. Forty nine people died in the Orlando Pulse nightclub massacre in October 2016:

    https://www.advocate.com/world/2019/3/21/new-zealand-passed-gun-control-days-pulse-survivors-still-waiting

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 573 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    I note that Matthew Hooton has had to swallow his callow words on PM Jacinda Ardern - he has previously said things like:

    Like John Key on steroids, Ardern is well advised to keep well away from anything difficult and, for the next 18 months, just smile and wave.

    from here March 8, 2019
    and today is seen to be trying to be more tactful - but he just can't help himself:

    For the Prime Minister, it is as if all her past life has been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.
    In the last week Jacinda Ardern has demonstrated the empathy of Ronald Reagan after the Challenger disaster and the steely resolve of Margaret Thatcher after the Brighton hotel bombing.
    Consequently, New Zealand will heal faster than it may have otherwise. Recent immigrants and our well-established Muslim communities are hopefully now in no doubt where they stand with the overwhelming majority of their fellow citizens. With any luck, the Government's proposed gun control solution can command unanimity in the House.

    from here
    The only heroes he has it seems are Reagan and Thatcher and then it's down hill from there as he turns it into an exhortation for his Neo Liberal clients to rise again.
    Sad.

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • andin, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    Such an incredibly one eyed reading of history, pathetic swill. What did he get a degree in? It certainly wasnt history, maybe propaganda!

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Pete,

    Well I for one will never shoot anybody and own several semiautos

    I used to enjoy my sport but now I'm treated like a criminal and lost thousands of dollars worth of legally purchased gear just because some fuckstick got around the poorly drawn laws and now we have a rush to quickly draw up more laws just because our GCSB can't keep up with 8 chan?

    I'm pro immigrant and think that white power dickheads can piss off sideways

    I like punching holes in paper and in one week I'm person non grata

    Also will someone please put Abdul Aziz forward for the George Medal?

    Since Apr 2008 • 106 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    You can still poke holes in paper, just as easily done with a bolt action rifle

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to andin,

    philosophy

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to Sacha,

    ...and majored in sophistry?

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    heh. probably guest lectured.
    (not that there's anything wrong with that)

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Farmer Green, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    Ethology :-)

    Lower North Island • Since Nov 2012 • 778 posts Report Reply

  • andin, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    Philip Matthews,

    and Will Harvie presents Karl Popper’s views

    Go Stuff..
    Saw a well researched article on Stuff about the crusades too.

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to andin,

    Go Stuff..

    They have also made the first steps in taking some of the heat out of their now less common Comments Sections - by removing the 'Up / Down Thumbs'.

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Duncan Garner lifts his head above the parapet to
    intone his disapproval
    I look forward to his apology to Taika Waititi and his clawing back some of his earlier diatribes about immigrants
    such as this one - which is still available and proudly wears the link to the upheld Press Council complaint
    - Perhaps he should take his mum with him to KMart next time...

    I can't bring myself to go look at what Sean Plunket has been saying ...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    Attachment

    Duncan Garner lifts his head above the parapet to
    intone his disapproval

    Fuck him. "No-one predicted that we would eyeball evil and have our unwanted date with hate last Friday afternoon."

    Really? It's precisely what gun reform advocates have been saying for years. It's been prophesied in report after report. Recommendations have been made to Parliament and ignored by politicians, who courted the "gun vote". And it's been enabled by pricks like him with his "human snake" comments and rampant racism on his shows. Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.

    As to Plunket, it's very odd that he seems to be wishing peace and love to everyone on Twitter. No-one's buying it.

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • andin, in reply to nzlemming,

    Im thinking back wondering when the race to the bottom kicked off. Sometime round the early to mid 80's I guessing. There are just some people in the media who need to be put out of a job Garner, Plunket and Hosking are at the top of the list AFAIC. Tho' they are only the public face and they seem to have friends in high places. TVNZ and RNZ boards are littered with people who adhere to rotten ideologies and questionable ethics from what I hear. Is it too late to stop the rot? And if they were put out and left to their own devices would they just fester and erupt somewhere else?

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to andin,

    TVNZ and RNZ boards are littered with people who adhere to rotten ideologies and questionable ethics from what I hear.

    I'm not sure that ideology plays that much of a part. They're solely interested in money, particularly quarterly returns, and they are seeing their traditional markets dissipate as people find new ways to consume news and entertainment. Generating outrage is a way of attracting clicks and therefore advertisers.

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • andin, in reply to nzlemming,

    Generating outrage

    Stoking a dying fire of narrow mindedness with the odd bit of voyeurism and scaremongering thrown in. No wonder people are looking elsewhere.
    Hell of a basis for an information/entertainment service too!
    If they keep it up they'll put themselves out of a job.

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Speaking of ’generating outrage’
    Worth noting this Australian report that there were 2,891 Murdoch Media Stories Trashing Islam In A Single Year, Study Reveals

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Dennis Frank, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    The baffling thing is why the Islamic authorities haven't issued a fatwa against Murdoch. Poor old Salman Rushdie got one issued against him, merely for writing the Satanic Verses. How many people actually read it? A miniscule amount!

    Compared to the zillions who read Murdoch media and those 2891 anti-islam stories. Islamic authorities need to develop a sense of proportion. Punishment ought to be effective, everyone knows that. Murdoch would hate being forced into hiding for the rest of his life. They seem to be not thinking clearly...

    New Zealand • Since Jun 2016 • 292 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to Dennis Frank,

    The baffling thing is why the Islamic authorities haven’t issued a fatwa against Murdoch.

    Dennis that is not helping!
    Perhaps it is in jest (tone is often difficult to assess on the web), but it just reamplifies negative stereotypes...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Dennis Frank, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    Just exposing their lack of credibility, Ian, as presumably Murdoch is too (although I don't read his stuff). I agree that islam would not be a problem if its authorities renounced violence and told the world they had decided to do peaceful co-existence instead. That would be wonderful.

    So we await this outcome. The longer they take, the more it looks like they are digging in for the duration. This crusader ideology drivel would get no traction in western society without the causal basis the other nutters provide. Ask yourself: did they issue a condemnation of those who did the Charlie Hebdo massacre? I didn't notice any such. If there was none, why let them off the moral hook?

    New Zealand • Since Jun 2016 • 292 posts Report Reply

  • Dennis Frank,

    I'll just add a bit: "some Muslims take the view that the satire of Islam, of religious representatives, and above all of Islamic prophets is blasphemy in Islam punishable by death." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hebdo_shooting

    Is concerted criticism of islam more of a threat to it than random satire? Seems obviously so. And this: "On 9 January, AQAP claimed responsibility for the attack in a speech from AQAP's top Shariah cleric Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari, citing the motive as "revenge for the honour" of Muhammad." So we have a top theologian owning the massacre, seeming to explain that lethal revenge for satire is Islamic justice. Not only that, endorsing enforcement in western countries where sharia law does not apply. Understandable that this official mandate would strike fear into some westerners, eh? And macho males would respond accordingly. We all got indoctrinated with the hero archetype as kids...

    New Zealand • Since Jun 2016 • 292 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to Dennis Frank,

    Jesus wept!

    Just exposing their lack of credibility, Ian, as presumably Murdoch is too (although I don’t read his stuff).

    So you “don’t read his stuff” but presume to know the content – that must help your world view immensely

    Ask yourself: did they issue a condemnation of those who did the Charlie Hebdo massacre? I didn’t notice any such. If there was none, why let them off the moral hook?

    and

    AQAP’s top Shariah cleric Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari, citing the motive as “revenge for the honour” of Muhammad.”

    Well duh! What would expect the a leading member of extremist and terrorist group Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to say?
    The rest of the non-fundamentalist Islamic world denounced the act
    https://qz.com/323412/what-muslim-scholars-have-to-say-about-the-charlie-hebdo-attack/
    and
    https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/muslims-condemn-charlie-hebdo-attack

    Just because you didn’t notice these condemnations doesn’t mean they didn’t happen.

    Meanwhile Rupert’s boy in the White House continues to be enabled. and to foment division and hatred – Macho males need a wake up call to not think they know it all and act in blessed ignorance.

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Dennis Frank,

    Some of those cited did seem to be religious authorities (rather than scholars or political leaders) but I notice none address the key point: the instruction in the Koran from the prophet to his followers that they must kill unbelievers.

    I cannot see how any sane person in the west would tolerate islam when they know the followers have been instructed to kill them by the top religious authority in Islam.

    We know moslems believe the Koran is divine instruction. We know they believe they must act in accord with the specific directives within. I applaud that many disobey, and have adopted the path of peaceful co-existence. The threat comes from the obedient. As long as that threat persists, a culture of opposition will continue to emerge in response in western countries. Human nature will ensure that.

    New Zealand • Since Jun 2016 • 292 posts Report Reply

  • simon g,

    FFS Dennis, do you have to turn this blog into a repository for your idle reckons, just because you're bored on a Sunday? Can't you get a hobby or something? You have a responsibility to consider the consequences of what you say in a public forum. Can't you just get a Twitter account and collect 3 followers for this rubbish?

    You and Farmer Green between you poison this place.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report Reply

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