Hard News: Free Man
65 Responses
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Sorry to anyone I have offendered my fiaqncee wants my guts for garters...I'm getting marrioed in 8 days an my response has been a little uncouth...sorry Russell
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FWIW, I've only met two people who worked for the SIS. They obviously didn't say much about their work, but they were both hellishly bright.
There was a time when people claimed to read Penthouse for the articles they published. Maybe some of them were telling the truth.
Or indeed worked for the SIS and read Penthouse.
I can't recall exactly when it was, round about the late '70s / early '80s and a misplaced SIS brief case was found on a park bench in Wellington.
Upon being opened, it was found to contain documents, a copy of said stick mag and...a pie. -
Sorry to anyone I have offendered my fiaqncee wants my guts for garters...I'm getting marrioed in 8 days an my response has been a little uncouth...sorry Russell
No worries. Sorry fixes most things. And calling Kowhai "Monty" was kinda cute.
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Getting married in 8 days, and drunk? What a catch. Meanwhile, I'm not worried about flags being burned. Like Joanna, I think it says a great deal about our democracy, that freedom of speech/action means exactly that.
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nzMM,
just saw tv one quote that bigot quote ("New Zealand will regret this decision be letting this parasite into our country...") in today's post.
During the report, the quote which was onscreen. Next to that they had a graphic of the website it was from. Since they had found the quote from your blog, they had a nice graphic of your webblog associated with that lovely quote mentioned above.
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Indded the "parsite" quote with Public Address banner in the background. Sorry for the bad press...
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During the report, the quote which was onscreen. Next to that they had a graphic of the website it was from. Since they had found the quote from your blog, they had a nice graphic of your webblog associated with that lovely quote mentioned above.
Idiots.
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Hey, at least you know they're reading you...
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Idiots.
They're not mine!
But yes, it's a bit rude implying the views belonged to the bloggers rather than freaks in the comments.
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"...just saw tv one quote that bigot quote ("New Zealand will regret this decision be letting this parasite into our country...") in today's post.
During the report, the quote which was onscreen. Next to that they had a graphic of the website it was from. Since they had found the quote from your blog, they had a nice graphic of your webblog associated with that lovely quote mentioned above..."
I think TVNZ were being spiteful bitches!! -
WH,
Whether or not New Zealand's laws against flag burning are a good idea, some people are really upset by the desecration of the flag. It is a superficial and imprecise form of political speech that relies heavily on offensiveness and symbolism for its effect. Many people (such as Andrew Smith) are likely to be upset if a symbol of our shared history is disrespected without good reason.
The right to freedom of expression does not necessarily prevent laws against flag burning from being properly enacted (many countries with rights-based constitutions have laws against desecration of their flag, as does New Zealand). While I happen to believe that people should be free to burn the flag, that does not prevent me from concluding that the people who actually burn flags (and the Klansmen who burn crosses) are generally retards. As the Klan example shows, the right of free speech bites when speech is at its most offensive.
I'm mindful that I've been defending positions here lately that are out of step, so I might sit a few plays out.</sulk> Before I do that, though, I will bring this back to the Zaoui case.
Under the Immigration Act, the SIS has the job of determining whether individuals claiming refugee status are a security threat. I believe that the SIS should err on the side of caution in fulfilling this function. In my view, New Zealand should not accept a refugee where there is a real possibility (or a risk) that the refugee is a security threat, as New Zealand citizens cannot sensibly be asked to bear this risk. The SIS had, of course, originally certified that Mr Zaoui was indeed a threat to national security.
I have read parts of the RSAA's Zaoui decision. It struck me as somewhat credulous, and I would not be inclined to place much weight on it. However, if the SIS (in conjunction with the High Court Judge that supervises the risk certificate process) is satisfied that the information that supported Mr Zaoui's security risk certificate no longer holds, few of us are in a position to second-guess its decision. In the absence of a security risk certificate, Mr Zaoui is entitled to stay.
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Weston:
Whether or not New Zealand's laws against flag burning are a good idea, some people are really upset by the desecration of the flag.
There's no right not to be offended in a liberal society. But if there was, I'd be gunning for Peter Dunne's hair.
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Now I have to disagree - I am so utterly sick of being told a franchise of a multi-national corporation (the IRB) represents us and I owe it my loyalty I would happily burn ten thousand All Black flags.
Or at least cut out or tape over the MasterCard bit? Or get flags/t-shirts/other collateral with the silver fern and "New Zealand" rather than "All Blacks" thus supporting our nation, not a multinational sporting corporation?
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I once met a chap who had worked for GCHQ in the UK. When I pulled his leg about the bumbling image of spies in recent times, he looked at me archly and said: "That's what we want you to think."
They want you to think that they're just pretending to be a bunch of bumbling incompetetents in order to disguise the fact that they are genuinely a bunch of bumbling incompetents?
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Belt,
"But it's scary bigots-a-go-go over at Kiwiblog. Check this out for a comment:"
Ok, enough now Russ. Picking on Kiwiblog comments is like beating a baby - it's sickening and it takes no skill.
No more of that, ok?
Pete
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