Posts by william blake
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11836445
This short piece in the herald makes the point that the national party endorses the idea that not being able to buy a house in Auckland is a moral failure for the individual. Whereas 10% of the population owning 50% of the wealth is the real failure.
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There is some evidence that suggests that 2nd hand vape is a respiratory irritant. Which presents the problem of least harm isolation. It's not fair to throw the vapers in with the leaf smokers as that is a proven carcinogen but not fair to add another irritant on the large minority of people who are hypersensitive to the increasing amounts of chemicals, fragrances and hydrocarbons that render them unwell. There should be a special room for lynx wearers as well.
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"Tirgiran village does not exist" but this is where the NZDF SAS thought they were, such a poor understanding of their location perhaps explains the shoot first ask questions later approach. They were expecting opposition and interpreted innocent civilian action incorrectly because of the misaprehended context.
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Not come across that acronym before, makes me very happy. Internet pictures made up out of various scattered letters for light and shade C1989. #soami
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IANAL contender for WOTY.
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http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/327353/afghan-raids-evidence-of-cover-up,-lawyers-say
Hager may be 'wrong headed' Graeme, but his whole legal team et.al? The book has already broken the silence on the deaths in Afghanistan and as you suggest good legal advice, in a criminal proceeding will probably shut the whole situation down for good. An inquiry may be a more productive avenue to explore.
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The legal advice to STFU has been closely observed, from the grunts all the way up the food chain to the Minister. The conspiracy of silence, as you point out Graeme, has led to corruption of evidence, crumbling of memory and statutes of limitations being reached. The accused innocents with their right to silence will probably never get a chance
to clear their names in a court of law. -
The response to Nicky and John’s book is sad, predictable and has become part of the case studies these journalists have presented us with.
Unfortunately with each episode the stakes get higher. John being harassed and threatened by the military and government for his Metro article, Nicky being harassed by the police for Dirty Politics. I fear for what is in store for them this time.
A common thread through these case studies are human failings within a powerful institution. The responses to them show a childish petulance and an unwillingness to take any kind of responsibility for mistakes, instead of using the good research in these reports to fix problems and restore honour to the institutions.
The difficulty of the work and the pretty horrible responses to it is taking a visible toll on both of the authors, these remarkable New Zealanders deserve better treatment for their work.
