Posts by Stephen Judd
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Thank you.
And as long as I'm going with the theatre metaphor, specifically, it's amateur theatre. The kind that's done for the participants, not the audience.
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Re Clark: Young quotes her as saying "I totally defend their right, indeed their duty, to act when they believe public safety is imperilled." I find that perfectly ok. That's a statement of fact about the role of police in our country.
What riled me earlier in the week was when she referred peoples' activities as though they were facts. Unlike DPF, she didn't use the word "alleged."
What Young quotes her as saying is the line she should have been taking all along.
Re the conduct of protesters: I have to say I find them utterly frustrating. I understand people are angry - I'm angry. I understand the urge to Do Something. What I don't understand is how anything can be helped by street theatre and confrontation.
Demonstrations, ostensibly, are to demonstrate something. Eg, how many people care, how much they care. If you pull it off, people who formerly didn't care or who thought they were alone will join you. On current form, they're well on the way to demonstrating to the rest of New Zealand that support for the prisoners is something for dickheads.
Read the comments on Indymedia, and you can see they're like a sort of theatre criticism. You looked great at that demo, darling! There doesn't seem to be any sense of what is to be accomplished outside of presenting a spectacle. I have not attended any gatherings in support of the accused, even though I do support them, (or at least one of them anyway), because of this kind of attitude. "Bring your rage!" Well no thank you, I would prefer to bring my boring, bourgeois concern for our civil rights.
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Ah. So video referees have wider application than just sport...
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For sure, Russell.
Spitting at people is (apart from being rude and unhygienic) utterly counter-productive, and it only makes sense as a manifestation of enmity. It is Bad Protesting. Gracefully ignoring it is Good Policing.
Letting violence take place under your nose and allowing the perpetrator to wander off? Bad Policing.
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I don't understand whose fault it is, and I wouldn't like to speculate, but it's really clear that the police and a certain subset of activists regard each other as enemies. That's what's behind today's bizarre behaviour, and I wouldn't be surprised if it explains a few other things as well.
they were "protecting the right to freedom of speech" by arresting protestors.
I don't think Orwell is spinning in his grave, because by now he must have drilled through to the centre of the earth.
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APW: well, reasonable people can differ. I personally think your views of acceptable discourse are a bit narrow.
The Haywood comparison? Gimme a break. Taonui is on his own time, doing his own thing, just like Laws isn't speaking for the people of Wanganui. And he's writing an opinion column in the paper, not presenting a thesis in fulfilment of a degree. And he's making jokes in poor taste, not citing holocaust deniers as serious sources for academic credit. I don't see any relevant analogy.
He's writing from a world view that is fundamentally different to mainstream Pakeha thinking. You may not share it, and there may be a lot to criticise in it, but I think there is great value in giving it an airing.
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APW: I had no idea he was an SST columnist. I don't read it regularly, except for the business section when my partner buys. Funnily enough that's because the regular columnists annoy the hell out of me...
But if it comes to that (I'm assuming this is the passage you refer to):
Tame Iti is a master of theatre, not a terrorist. He showed his bum to the Waitangi Tribunal, and has spat with great aplomb and even greater accuracy in the direction of a governor-general, a prime minister and the assembled Labour Maori MPs. He shotgunned a flag because he is a freedom fighter for rights, not a killer. He may have some Molotov cocktails but who would he throw them at? No Pakeha train passes by, and 737s fly too high. Iti co-hosts a boys' agony programme for emotionally distraught brothers once a week on Maori TV and then hangs about in Ponsonby cafes. He wears camouflage gear, but doesn't have the body type for special ops.
... I bet I could find you something more inflammatory from Michael Laws every Sunday. I personally don't find that an obnoxious thing to say.
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Yes, it's just you.
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You know, a foodie channel would be a great PAS addition.
David: good luck! Just be warned, you get a LOT of bagels out of that recipe. Good excuse to have people over for lunch - you supply bagels, tell them to bring topping of choice.
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First, get some really really big papers...