Posts by dcnbwz
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Having just watched an episode of series 2 Sopranos - I do believe that was John Key's best 'Jackie Aprile Manson peepers' impression in that 3 news clip too.....
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It seems the people of New Zealand are under attack from all directions, and our democracy is being demolished at a rapid rate. It's quite clear these guys are corrupt and display open contempt at anything that sits outside their agenda of neoliberal policies and corporate entrenchment. Democracy seems to be an annoyance they've managed to get around.
We're now being referred to as a brand state. Truly depressing, and disgusting. Gordon Campbell has a good round up too. See you at the meeting.
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What is at stake here, which is probably becoming obvious by now is the very fabric of what I thought made up our society. I believed we had a constitution that protected us from corporates and corruption being able to purchase law so blatantly, with disregard for our established legal and democratic safeguards. But clearly we don't.
The facade that was in place for the first few years of this tenure have clearly been dropped, I don't think they can be bothered holding up the flimsy veils any more. And it is appalling at how stifled the likes of the Labour party currently are - there's been so much to throw back at the government, yet there doesn't seem to be any impact. I'm not sure if that's due to corporate media domination, poor opposition, or a combination of both, but SOMETHING needs to happen.
It was a cleverly organised campaign against Labour in the last decade, with the shrill cries of "interference in my individual rights, nanny state" etc, and much more crassness than that. Yet now in much larger scale organised groups, who clearly appear to have the voice of the mainstream media are intent on regressing law, rights, wages and freedoms to leave us getting closer to the state of fascism.
The lack of rational dialogue stands out in our country, and has done for a long time. Any debate is framed so far right (in reference to where the centre might have been construed 10, 20 or 30 years ago) in terms of it's points of reference that any real voice attempting to bring some alternative or reasoned point of view gets shouted down in two seconds flat, and dismissed as "Wacky" or loony, communist or compared to North Korea. I am referring to the loudest opinions voiced here in the msm, which is unfortunately what most people digest on a daily basis.
Corporate influence on our lives, our democracies (or what's left of them) is such a malaise, and has in fact become a reality. It's scary, depressing, and generates a sense of helplessness at least in myself. NZ Inc means a race to the bottom for most of us, mirroring the way most corporations are run. We are actually witnessing for the first time in my admittedly limited political awareness the active suppression and criminalisation of dissent, protest and free speech. Or maybe it's just more blatant now.
Accountability is the starting point - any number of cases, Sky city, gcsb, the pike river disaster, the subsequent hijacking of democracy in Canterbury after and before the earthquake, the continued marginalisation of the poor etc etc - we must remove the framework that suggests that in the business or political world you cannot be held responsible, and actually hold these people responsible, with social and moral compacts. Accountability in an environmental sense in terms of corporate impact would be a good start - especially if that is financially framed.
A return to egalitarianism perhaps. A shift in the power base back to the masses. Time for a review of how our democracy is actually working?
Apologies for the rant. And yes I do feel like a slow boiling frog.
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I can't speak for Christchurch at all, not having lived there.
But what about the person walking along great north road at midnight and has a car full of people yell at him then turn around for the response and throw bottles. Or walking down any main city after dark and having people challenge you for even glancing in their direction. Or inane fights that leave people stomped on with major unrecoverable head injuries, usually over absolutely nothing at all. Or the drunk guy laying down the challenge because "You're not from around here". Or any other act of so called random violence that happens ad nauseum on New Zealand streets every night, with an acceleration in the weekend.
We have a problem. A huge problem. It begins, and probably ends quite quickly, with alcohol and intolerance, and is fed by peer pressure and other influences (super violent video games, lack of empathy, immaturity spring to mind). It's never been addressed properly, written off as one of our "growing pains" yet now there is a far more sinister manifestation.
I don't see any representation of the consequences of these attacks ever. If you've ever seen a serious head injury (and I'm not talking external) and the impact on that person you would never, ever think about hitting someone in the head again. Then there's the recovery time, psychological impact etc.
The warrior culture and lack of empathy needs to be addressed. Along with alcohol consumption. And I say this clearly as someone who has blacked out, crashed cars and done some pretty bloody stupid other things.
We have a crisis. It should be apolitical.
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Eating media lunch - anal mana
From the listener a while back.....http://www.listener.co.nz/entertainment/pique-viewing/
Best Hoax: the leggy beauty on the awful Something About Miriam turned out to be a bloke and everyone involved deserved every thing they got. Incredibly, some people actually believed that Eating Media Lunch killed Shrek and that an indigenous good time called Anal Mana would be coming to an adult section near you. Time for another of those shows where they test the IQ of the nation. Quick.
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Hard News: Drunk Town, in reply to DexterX,
That just makes me feel sick. And sad.
Seriously - what DO people expect will happen if they jump on someone's head repeatedly? The answer is clearly a) They're not thinking at all and b) They're not thinking at all and don't care.
Good on you Dexter for reporting these too, that can be dangerous in itself.
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Sorry, probably a bit late........but I believe it would be a great deterrent if any perpetrators of violence of any kind (particularly those who believe it's okay if it's only one punch) to be forced to visit long term head injury patients in the care surroundings.
Show them what happens to someone with a serious head injury.
Show them what happens to someone in a brawl, or someone who only got hit once and then hit the concrete head first.
Show them someone who has had to live with a serious head injury for twenty years. Show them the effects on the families of these people.
I'd like to think a lot of people would change their ways after that........or maybe I'm just being naive.
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Hard News: Drunk Town, in reply to Sacha,
Thirded. The readiness to resort to violence, and in some cases serious group violence is disturbing, and that more than anything to me contributes to the unsafeness I've felt in Ak central. Even k'rd seems to switch after 11pm, and there doesn't seem to be a hell of a lot of good will out there.
It's always been there, and is also indicative of a trend of western youth culture too. It really does reinforce immaturity.
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Hard News: London's Burning, in reply to Rich Lock,
Actually it was great to see Boris shown up for the twat he really is.
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Hard News: London's Burning, in reply to Tamsin6,
Most of them are children, you're right. And they don't care.
It is about them, this is the instant gratification generation that we appear to have reaped. Yep there's other factors, but what I'm seeing is sheer "Fuck it no one can stop us".
They're obviously not sticking it to the man. He's quite safe behind closed doors and wealth. They're sticking it to themselves, their communities, small businesses, people's homes, just generally groups that can't afford to lose anything.
I've got no answers - London's quiet so far, sort of, but Manchester burns, and the right wing are crawling out of the woodwork. Yet it's still fundamentally a bunch of lawless kids who are doing what they want and getting a buzz out of it.