Posts by Peter Graham
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OnPoint: What Andrew Geddis Said, But…,
Does anyone know why the redacted parts couldn't be got by an OIA request?
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John Key says he doesn't have a clue how he got Ian Fletcher's phone number.
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From the 2012 SIS annual report:
During 2011/12, the NZSIS contributed to an assessment on the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction threat to New Zealand which was agreed and issued formally by the
National Assessments Committee. Key judgements included:
• while WMD are highly unlikely to be directly used against New Zealand, the proliferation
of WMD presents a range of direct and indirect threats to New Zealand’s national
security, and to its interests globally;
• the threat to New Zealand from the proliferation of nuclear weapons and their means of
delivery outweighs that from chemical and biological weapons;
• the proliferation of nuclear weapons threatens the international multilateral framework,
on which New Zealand relies;
• New Zealand involvement, even if unwitting, in the proliferation of WMD-related goods
and technology could cause economic and reputational harm to both the entities involved
and New Zealand more generally;
• attempts to acquire controlled and dual-use technology from New Zealand present the
greatest single proliferation-related threat to New Zealand, and will likely remain so for
the next few years; and
• New Zealand will continue to be an attractive target for foreign WMD procurement
companies, and could become increasingly targeted as a source of niche controlled and
dual-use goods and technology, particularly if other countries continue to tighten their
proliferation-related trade restrictions.John Key seems to be repeating what the SIS has already said publicly.
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In case people haven't seen it:
Greens' complaint a 'political stunt': Key"They can go off to the police. It's another political stunt," Mr Key told media in China, where he is leading a business delegation.
"They probably get an issue a week from the Greens. We might just have to expand the police's capability."
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Hard News: MegaBox: From f**k-all to zero, in reply to Graeme Edgeler,
Do you exercise your rights similarly with off-line content? Do you have someone blank out the ads in magazines, or hold up screens in front of bus-shelter advertising?
I fast forward through ads when I watch recorded TV, and I mute the TV otherwise.
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Hard News: Cultures and violence, in reply to SteveH,
Are you arguing that the second amendment means people have a constitutionally protected right on own cruise missiles?
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on the second amendment: "Obviously the Amendment does not apply to arms that cannot be hand-carried — it’s to keep and “bear,” so it doesn’t apply to cannons — but I suppose here are hand-held rocket launchers that can bring down airplanes, that will have to be decided." Source
So yes. It's your right to own any cruise missile you can carry.
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Hard News: Why did Stephen die?,
Bomber has published Stephen McIntyre's description of what happened.
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Speaking of health, there's the latest from the Dunedin longitudinal study. The finding that consistent use of cannabis by young teenagers is likely to result in lower IQ scores later in life shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has followed this important body study. It's very clear now that the use of cannabis by young adolescents -- the younger, the worse it is -- is unacceptably risky.
Although it's not too late to have your say at the Herald.
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Hard News: John Banks: The volunteer did…,
Why not prosecute the campaign volunteer?
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Hard News: The not-so-Evil Empire, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
We should really have similar rules for the computer industry.
In what way is that not true of the computer industry? There is plenty of 3rd-party iPhone servicing, for example.