Posts by Neil Morrison
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It's better if the ruling minority is the same race/colour as the oppressed majority, then?
I think many people in the West considered the Apartheid regime to be a product of Western colonialism which gave that issue a particular resonance. There was a greater responsibilty felt for the white regime.
In NZ the white SA society of the time was seen to be a distorted mirror image of white society here in NZ - especially with the shared rugby tradition.
That's not necessarily a reason not to impose equivalent sanctions against China but things were a bit different.
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I just wish the government would front up and admit it.
I agree there's some moral ambiguity involved but I wouldn't go so far as to claim this is sending a message to the rest of the world that NZ is not concerned with human rights issues or that the FTA should mean other countries should turn a blind eye.
I'm trying to think of any government worthy of respect that would look at the FTA and then conclude - we don't have to be concerned with China's human rights.
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...we should not give international credibility to brutal states that have poor human rights records,
Are we doing that though?
Labour has been critical of China on human rights issues. I think that anyone who thinks that the FTA is somehow giving "redibilty to brutal states" just wants to believe that no matter what.
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Working collectively is a very poorly defined concept.
and often romanticised.
I[t] might be the most...
you keep on spoiling my jokes.
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It might be the most under-reported economic story in the country at the moment.
that's true.
Funny thing is, working collectively used to be a hallmark of how things were done in New Zealand.
has there been any shift in how much of our behaviour is collective and how much is more individualistic?
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People retain a distinct ethnic identity -- often down through generations -- but also salute the flag.
It's interesting how one level of identification can counter some negative consequences of another level of identification.
One way of looking at nationalism is that it was a way of bringing together people who had otherwise identified (and caused trouble) on the basis of family (tribe, clan etc - ie ethniciy its broader meaning). But then nationalism has had its own problems.
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...in my mind the "real grievances" are only real in the sense that they are genuinely felt. Otherwise, they seem to me to be proxies for economic anxiety.
I agree. Although there is the in-group/out-group dynamic going on which humans are just so good at.
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It isn’t inherently racist to have the serious debate now we should have had 15 years ago about what sort of demographic makeup and what sort of country we want as a result of immigration BEFORE any sort of racist anti-immigration party gets 20 seats...
Some in the British Labour Party put forward this argument a few years ago - failing to acknowledeg the real grievances of (mostly less well off) white communities regarding immigration just leaves the door open for the BNP.
It's very tricky point to make though. It's very easy to be characterised as being sympathetic to racist attitudes.
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But if that's all people read (or want to read) about China, they will get a very skewed picture of what's happening in a country of 1.3 billion people that is undergoing the most rapid and comprehensive social transformation in the history of mankind.
This assumes a great deal - I doubt whether there are many people who have such a black and white view of China.
But it's slightly irrelevant anyway, those making the most noise about China's faults are Western governments and human rights groups who all have an in depth understanding of the complications involved.
I don't buy the argument that China is the victim of ill-informed Western criticism.
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Apparently the committee is mostly populated by Senate-type representatives -- three per state. Obama has won way more states.
That Josh Marshall post on the credentials committe got updated, things are even more complicated,
Thus, even under a scenario where Obama’s campaign moves forcefully to put as many of their appointments as possible on the Rules and Credentials Committees, Chairman Dean’s appointees may still hold the balance of power. So the chairman may be able to exert enormous influence over whether or not delegates from Florida and Michigan are represented on the convention floor.
As in 2000, it could all come down to Florida. I wouldn't want to be Howard Dean at the moment. That might change if Edwards and Gore show their hand and it's very interesting that they haven't.