Posts by WH
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Its good to see Nick Evans get some recognition. Carter hasn't quite been the same since coming back from injury (duly noting his games against the Lions). Maybe Carter and Evans could play first and second-five once McAlister and Mauger leave for overseas.
The AB backline looks dangerous from broken play, but maybe not so dangerous from set piece. The backs seem to run quite flat and pass close to the advantage line, which I guess is the style nowadays, but must be really hard to do. Hopefully our midfield combinations will click for the knockout stages.
-
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.
-
Only to people who know nothing about the BORA or politically refuse to accept it.
The case is controversial because the interpretation of s.11 used by the Court was plainly wrong, and the Court had to stretch s.4 of the BoR to breaking point to achieve the result that it did. If you want a lesson on why your view is incorrect, you could buy a copy of my book on the subject.*
Whats really not cool though is describing your own political preferences as rights norms and then telling everyone else they aren't as rights compliant as you are. :)
* i haven't really written a book on the subject. Well mostly not, anyway.
-
I understand your discomfort with it, but the right to burn the flag has been upheld by a New Zealand court as a matter of free expression under the Bill of Rights Act 1990.
The case you are referring to is Hopkinson v R, and it remains controversial. You might also like to look at s.11 of the Flags, Emblems and Names Protection 1981, being the statute that s.4 or s.5 of our Bill of Rights was apparently unable to save.
Whether it is illegal or not, its strange to think that people died under our flag so that thoughtless losers could burn it.
-
-
The philosophers will even assess your designer God for internal consistency
The greatest trick the [milk] devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist
-
i believe in the milk devil
-
-
The Guardian has this neat world cup thingy thats worth a look.
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/flash/page/0,,2162924,00.html
No more years. Go the All Blacks.
-
<quote>Speaking only for myself, I would rather give $10 to helping a third world country develop (you know, to people who can't afford air fares) than give $1 to a refugee. That's at least in part because I don't respect the decision making processes of our refugee tribunals.<quote>
Perhaps that is a cheap shot. I would have to acknowledge that the refugee system and foreign aid schemes are intended to work in parallel.