Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Things To Do

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  • Sam F,

    Is it just me, or has UNITYblog changed appearance in the last little while?

    I thought it was originally the official blog of Socialist Worker-New Zealand, not just "hosted [by SW-NZ] in the interests of broad left unity".

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Kyle Matthews,

    any one that says the ploughshares could have got their point across as effectively in other ways is wrong

    This logic is a bit screwy, isn't it?

    If I thought the education system was bad, would I be justified in burning down a school? Or if I had concerns about the health system, would I be justified setting a couple of wards ablaze?

    Schools do useful things, the covers on the dishes are actually just cosmetic.

    I've been to the Waihopai base, as part of an Anti Bases Campaign protest. This would have to be the biggest spotlight that has been put on them in years and years of turning up and protesting at the bases by a number of committed activists. Absolutely it's been effective at getting their message across.

    It's not like it's the first time anyone jumped the fence there. No damage was done to the infrastructure itself. They just popped a balloon that is there to provide weather protection.

    Actually the primary purpose of the 'golf balls' is to cover the dishes as having them visible and out in the open is just bad marketing - it's bad form to remind the general population that there are big dishes there spying on them. There's no need for dishes such as these to have weather cover, and in lots of places they don't have any covers. From memory when Waihopai was first built, there was no cover, it was added a couple of years later on the one dish they had then.

    The dish would have been turned off for a period because it had a kevlar dome collapse on it. If it didn't have the stupid dome they wouldn't have had to turn it off - the activists wouldn't have been likely to be able to do anything to the actual dish.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report

  • Kyle Matthews,

    However, from where I'm sitting, it's looking pretty good. The bottoms fallen out of the real-estate pyramid scheme. Meaning, rather than farming affluent wannabe lords of the two acer block, the farmers might resume food production as the better economic use of land. And as David, the former energy engineer and forklift driver, said in another thread, New Zealand produces food with reasonable imported energy efficiency, compared to some of our major trading partners.

    I don't see that helping much. NZ getting ahead in the cost of producing food is going to be great for farmers, but if food is still really expensive in the rest of the world, then it'll be much better for our farmers to export it and earn a heap more, than sell it domestically and earn less. It's my understanding that this is why we're paying a lot for milk products these days - not that milk is drastically more expensive to make in NZ, just that it's high internationally, and we buy NZ milk in competition with that international market.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report

  • Kyle Matthews,

    No its not. GST is a regressive tax that has a far greater proportional impact on low income households than higher income households. Sorry Russell, you have got that side of the argument totally arse about face.

    I get... annoyed isn't the right word - frustrated... by the description of GST as a regressive tax.

    GST is probably regressive to your income, but it's not an income tax. It's a sales tax of a sort. It's a flat tax relative to what it's a tax on, which is spending.

    Yes poor income earners probably pay a higher proportion of their income on GST on food. But I bet the proportion is even more pronounced on petrol tax, no one seems to be arguing for that to be removed to alleviate child poverty. Car registration? Rates are probably regressive for some lower income earners.

    (Catching up on posts after a week in Rarotonga)

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report

  • A S,

    Schools do useful things, the covers on the dishes are actually just cosmetic.

    So just because someone deems that something isn't useful, its fine to destroy it? That really is screwy.

    Funnily enough, it just goes to reinforce my original argument there is no acceptable reason to destroy something in this country merely because a minority dislike it.

    If the majority consider that something should be done, we live in a democratic society, so there is an opportunity every three years to work towards this.

    I was also somewhat horrified to read an earlier post (not by you though Kyle) that implied that destroying schools was bad because children might be there, but it was ok to attack a base because those who were there knew what they were doing....

    WTF?! So someone, who was recruited by the govt of this country, who probably quite rightly consider that they are working for the best interests of our country, perhaps out a sense of duty or need to serve the public, and yet it is ok to target them? I just don't buy that argument at all.

    The other extreme of that argument is that it is ok to crush dissenting voices by violent means because they knew what they were doing. Does anyone really want to go down that path?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2007 • 269 posts Report

  • Shep Cheyenne,

    AS - First things first - please quote rather than bring your own strawmen to the conversation, (a bit Wishartesque in style).

    As far as I can see you were the pyro who brought the burning of schools into the converstaion and any ref from there on was in response to your stawman.

    I have met Mr McMasters who just won the Viet Nam vets a consession on Agent Orange because he kept the maps of Kiwi deployment and the spray zones.

    The "Trust us" line doesn't work, if it ever did.

    It's pretty clear anyone paid to be at Waihopai wasn't working and to that there can be no arguement. Especially inlight of the Pine Gap 4 told them about it in Jan08 with the dates!

    I don't think anyone is arguing about the legality of the actions taken & those who committed it are prepared to pay a price for their actions.

    You will note it is not seen by the Police in such shrill tones as put forward by yourself & Malcolm, responsible for Kiwi deaths in Afghanistan or like burning schools - no-one is having any of that.

    It was a break-in and popping of a balloon.

    Since Oct 2007 • 927 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    Repairing waihope kevla dome $1M
    Processing three saboteurs $1000
    Reading about it in New Idea $3

    Wall surrounding Bamiyan Buddha destroyed by NZ forces...

    Priceless.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • samuel walker,

    A S

    you got this :

    I was also somewhat horrified to read an earlier post (not by you though Kyle) that implied that destroying schools was bad because children might be there, but it was ok to attack a base because those who were there knew what they were doing....

    from this?

    they are public spaces. big difference.
    they also involve the young and the sick. and would include the possible presence of non-involved people. where as everyone inside the Echelon base is involved in the project. Plus they rendered the dish unusable [yes, via vandalism] but they didnt blow it up, or burn it to the ground. It is a much more focused message than that.

    good call with the Wishart comparison Shep. i can hear the twilight zone music too.....

    Since Nov 2006 • 203 posts Report

  • A S,

    Shep.

    Let's recap.

    earlier post from Samuel.

    any one that says the ploughshares could have got their point across as effectively in other ways is wrong.

    Then we have my statement questioning this.

    This logic is a bit screwy, isn't it?

    If I thought the education system was bad, would I be justified in burning down a school? Or if I had concerns about the health system, would I be justified setting a couple of wards ablaze?

    Samuel came back with

    oh nonono. sorry, i spat that comment out in a bit of a hurry. its possible I could have been clearer. Im not sure why you think I am advocating some kind of terrorism though...

    putting aside the fact that i see your burning schools and hospitals comparison as a HUGE leap beyond inconveniencing a satelite dish operation....

    I then replied to this with

    I understand your perspective samuel, I guess that I just can't get my head around the motivation to damage things we don't like in order to get attention.

    On the huge leap thing, I would have said that in looking at it dispassionately, there isn't really much difference between events at Waihopai and the burning school/hopital e.g's.

    In all cases:
    1. Someone decides that they have an issue with a state institution,
    2. They unilaterally decide to attack/damage that institution because of the issue they have, and carry out their intent.

    The motivation, action and result in all three examples is the same. The end result is damaged things that the public has to pay to fix. Generally that cost has to be met by reducing spending somewhere else.

    Samuel and I continued to discuss in a similar vein, then Malcolm chipped in at that point

    That was spent by our elected representatives. We can vote them out. Nobody elected these activists to spend our money. Nor can we vote them out.

    Also, riddle me this; what if this led to an intelligence failure, that resulted in an ambush, that cost ANZAC lives in Afghanistan? How peaceful would the sickles be then?

    Then you chipped in with reply to Malcolm

    Malcolm - now that's a leap.

    It's not like it's the first time anyone jumped the fence there. No damage was done to the infrastructure itself. They just popped a balloon that is there to provide weather protection.

    Result - if it was anywhere else in NZ it might get wet, but it's Marlborough and so that's not gonna happen.

    Security is their responsibility & it is obviously seriously lacking, as no real damage was done they've actually helped bring to light how lax those boys and girls at Waihopai are.
    ...

    At that point, I thought this wasn't quite accurate, so I chipped in with

    Shep,

    It isn't such a leap really. Media reports were that the dish was out of action as a result of the attack.

    In terms of the security at Waihopai, are you suggesting they should have had armed guards with shoot on sight instructions?

    $1m damage, nothing to worry about? I suspect most people would disagree with you on that one.

    Then you replied with

    A S,

    $1m - The obvious answer to that is moth balls, pull the plug and then no more problem.

    And this $1M for a plastic rain coat, really? I'll do the contract for 1/2 that.

    All that was needed was a roving patrol in fog when the CCTV is out of action.

    It might be cold and dark outside, but if you can't see you better off your ass and take a walk, a flashlight, radio and themos of coffee would do the job.

    etc. etc. etc.

    In reading back over this, to your strawman accusation, I say Bullshit. You might not agree with my argument, I sure as hell don't agree with yours, but lets try not to degenerate into the written equivalent of throwing stones shall we.

    I did indeed draw a parallel between waihopai and other state assets. I maintain that this is a valid parallel. Destroying something, even if it belongs to the state, just because you disagree with it, or because you want to make a point is just screwy, not to mention criminal.

    Show me something in my statements that isn't a valid point to bring to the debate.

    Actually Samuel, the bit horrified me the most was this

    and would include the possible presence of non-involved people. where as everyone inside the Echelon base is involved in the project.

    Wouldn't you agree that from this statement you could indeed draw such a conclusion?

    Hate to say, I've never read anything by Wishart, so I'm uncertain if that is a compliment or an insult. In terms of the twilight zone, though, let's not get into that debate, it really doesn't get us anywhere, and the accusation of conspiracy theory nutjobs really does go two ways on this.

    Cheers

    A S

    Wellington • Since Nov 2007 • 269 posts Report

  • Shep Cheyenne,

    Sorry I was wrong.

    Mr McMasters is Mr Masters. I always want to prefix his name for some reason.

    Since Oct 2007 • 927 posts Report

  • samuel walker,

    A S.

    good effort with the response. I could have expected more bite after I baited with the twighlight zone ref.

    Wouldn't you agree that from this statement you could indeed draw such a conclusion?

    nope. not even when taken out of context like that.


    anyway,

    i think the guts of this matter is that gaining as much of the right kind of publicity is key to any public protest being effective.Unlike you I choose to see a difference between the violent and the passive in these situations. And I also differ with you in that I see the Waihopai action as sitting rather comfortably within the passive set.

    And I think we are gonna hafta agree to disagree on this one.

    Since Nov 2006 • 203 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    why not fight to the death?

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • Kyle Matthews,

    __Schools do useful things, the covers on the dishes are actually just cosmetic.__

    So just because someone deems that something isn't useful, its fine to destroy it? That really is screwy.

    Well whether or not it's fine to destroy something, would depend on the individual and the object. Personally I'd be very happy if Waihopai got knocked over in a big storm, or was torn down by enraged activists. I wouldn't want anyone who worked there hurt in that action however. I'm sure I'd be in the minority though.

    But it's not a difficult conclusion to draw that you would get a different reaction to the statements:

    1. I hate the health system so I'm going to blow up a hospital.
    2. I hate Waihopai, so I'm going to blow up the spy dishes.

    from a lot of NZers. Even if they opposed both actions (which I'm sure most NZers would), we assign different values to different things, and it would be a far more whacked out activist that would try to take out a hospital, even if it was (for some reason) empty of staff and patients.

    No doubt the activists will be convicted and fined, in much the same way that a person who got made the choice to get drunk and go around breaking stuff.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report

  • Shep Cheyenne,

    Ploughshares are pacifists. That the use of their symbol was seen as violent was a miss reading of their symbolism.
    It was all symbolisim with no actual damage done, or intended to be done, to the essential infrastructure.

    Since Oct 2007 • 927 posts Report

  • Malcolm,

    Shep, Kyle,

    So let's get this right. It's okay to destroy things you morally disagree with, provided you are willing to take the consequences of your actions, and don't intend to hurt people? Have I got that right?

    I don't see how any kind of society could function with that kind of violent anarchism. It seems to justify everything. After all, people always believe themselves justified in their actions. It reminds me of Professor Paz in Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", who described himself as a rational anarchist. However, he followed his anarchist logic to its conclusion, and was prepared to kill if he thought he ought to . After all, once you demonize somebody as part of an oppressive clique, any action against them becomes justified. Doesn't it? How far can property damage and reckless disregard be taken?

    The inevitable suspicion is that you only intend such rules to apply to people you like. I wonder how you would feel about people using the same tactics, but to opposite political ends?

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report

  • Kyle Matthews,

    So let's get this right. It's okay to destroy things you morally disagree with, provided you are willing to take the consequences of your actions, and don't intend to hurt people? Have I got that right?

    Well if you look http://www.publicaddress.net/system/topic,958,onpoint_children_come_first_except_when_walls_come_first.sm?i=0#forum-replies">here, then you'll see a fair few PAS posters arguing that people should be able to grafitti all over public and private property.

    But no, that's not what I said. What I said is that you'll get a different reaction to damaging or destroying things that you morally disagree with, depending on what that thing is.

    Mike Smith is the obvious example. By taking a chainsaw to an exotic tree at the top of one tree hill, a fair proportion of NZers got really pissed at him. If he'd taken the chainsaw to a native tree at the bottom of the hill, most people wouldn't have given a shit, and just thought he was an idiot with a chainsaw.

    I don't think there are always moral absolutes, but there are often moral spectrums, and everyone fits on them somewhere. Not many people would agree with popping the balloon around Waihopai. A few more might agree with disabling a tank that was in Iraq. What if the tank was in Burma and about to go find some monks last year? The tanks in Tiannenman Square killing student protestors? At some point almost everyone agrees that destroying property, particularly government property is OK.

    Under law it's not OK to do a lot of things. Destroy property is one, smoke pot is another. That doesn't mean if you do it and get caught you're not going to get some sympathy from people who agree with you.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report

  • Shep Cheyenne,

    Malcolm - It's not OK, that is why there are consequences, but I do respect them for making a stand.

    And Kyle brings out the classic symbolic actions of Mike King (an embarressment to all Maori forresters) when he attempted (& failed) to cut a tree down. Involking the history of cutting down flag poles by Hone Heke.

    I do see these as legitimate forms of protest.

    After being let go on bail they gave a clear statement they weren't wanting to attack the infrastructure as that is NZs role to take. They merely wanted to highlingt Waihopai, which they did.

    Since Oct 2007 • 927 posts Report

  • Malcolm,

    Shep & Kyle: thank you for your thoughtful answers.

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    It seems very self centred to me - an attempt to feel better about a local issue, and damn the global consequences.

    seems more like they were protesting the use of new zealand soil in the killing of thousands in Iraq. An act of aggression in which Waihope has been implicated:

    http://stuff.co.nz/4521682a10.html

    You can imagine that 911 came out of the blue. But the alleged protagonists will continue to argue it's a response to previous invasions and interference by the "Arsenal of Democracy" and allies. To distance rather than continue to implicate our country as part of this imperialism, would seem the wiser move.

    It turns out that a belief in non-violence doesn't protect you from the 9/11, Madrid, London and Bali bombers

    Australians, Spanish, British...involved in which war in recent years?

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

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