Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Te Qaeda and the God Squad

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  • Yoza,

    Which is why the TSA amendment bill passed yesterday, 108 for 12 against.

    The Labour/National coalition strikes again.

    (also checking to see if my gravatar is working)

    Wellington • Since Oct 2007 • 12 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Rodgerd wrote:

    On the other hand, you'd also be on the path to dismissal if you kept giving people shit about their marriage in the workplace, too.

    Quite possibly, but smacking the crap out of someone isn't really an appropriate methodology for workplace dispute resolution or stress minimisation. (OMG, did I just lapse into Management Gibber-lish?)

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • 3410,

    However he has apparently made threatening statements in the past. For example

    Omar says he is passionate about writing and a regular correspondent to the media "whenever something really ticks me off".

    Steven, there is absolutely nothing in either that quote or the linked page that could be considered threatening.

    Auckland • Since Jan 2007 • 2618 posts Report Reply

  • Matt Jeffs,

    From what I can see, from reading the NZ Herald online and Stuff NZ, Omar seems to have been arrested just on the basis of being politcally active, having allegedally held a firearm at some stage and being of middle eastern descent while living in New Zealand. I'm no expert on New Zealand law but since when did any of these things become illegall? Being politically active ... well should anyone who ever belonged to a politcal party, trade union or written an 'incandescant' Letter to The Editor be worried?
    As for handling a firearm. Should we then start banging up farmers. I'm sure a few of the country's cow cocky's get a bit 'ticked off' now and then. If anyone has read anything reliable that would highlight this individual as being of 'serious national threat to public safety' please inform me. At the moment I can't quite see how anyone actually has the brass to detain him.

    UK - ex Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 36 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    "Omar Hamed"

    best. dogwhistle. ever.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Michael Fitzgerald,

    Sorry - Omar Hamed is being charged with having at some stage in the past held a firearm?
    Sure he's not being done for having one now?
    Just I've instructed in firearms & even had an 8 yr old shoot a 9mm pistol - all on the Queens shilling.

    Since May 2007 • 631 posts Report Reply

  • Michael Fitzgerald,

    Just listened to Radio Live Lush & Tame Iti.
    He knows the SIS are watching him & he states he went to Fiji to talk.
    It seems quite a leap to go from self appointed ambasador of Tuhoe to Fiji to then become an armed revolutionary.

    Since May 2007 • 631 posts Report Reply

  • Andrew Paul Wood,

    Now Michael - that would be "self appointed ambassador of a nation not recognised by any government or the UN, to the leader of an undemocratic military junta." That's pretty queer in itself.

    And it really doesn't take much - speaking as someone who knew someone killed in the Bali bombing, you don't have to be Che Guevara to cause carnage, just the will.

    Christchurch • Since Jan 2007 • 175 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    Now Michael - that would be "self appointed ambassador of a nation not recognised by any government or the UN, to the leader of an undemocratic military junta." That's pretty queer in itself.

    That's a tactic that has been used with some success by indigenous people's around the world. Not self-appointed ambassadors that I know of, but Aborigines have set up a protest embassy in Canberra for ages.

    And given that Tuhoe as I understand it, didn't sign the Treaty, but were included into the British Empire by act of NZ Parliament, without their consent, declaring themselves a sovereign nation and putting into place some public structures of that nation is an entirely sensible protest tactic.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Michael Fitzgerald,

    Andrew - Indonesia is a mess. There is always a playing off of the various people and often with bloody results.

    I wrote earlier of an Indonesian whos father & uncles were killed by paramilitaries while he was at Uni here & stayed with my family while Muldoon stort to forcibly remove him to back there to a certain death. He's now in Canada as far as I know.

    I truely don't see Tame Iti or anyone in NZ having the will for armed revolt.

    Since May 2007 • 631 posts Report Reply

  • Andrew Paul Wood,

    Neither Tame Iti (for Tuhoe or otherwise) nor the Fiji junta enjoy any sort of official international recognition, so it's a rather pointless gesture. And entirely disingenious of Iti's part:

    'Twas an evening in October, I'll confess I wasn't sober,
    I was carting home a load with manly pride,
    When my feet began to stutter and I fell into the gutter,
    And a pig came up and lay down by my side.
    Then I lay there in the gutter and my heart was all a-flutter,
    Till a lady, passing by, did chance to say:
    "You can tell a man that boozes by the company he chooses,"
    Then the pig got up and slowly walked away.

    And as Tuhoe can hardly exist outside the context of the modern New Zealand state, I regard protest to that end as something of a moot point and probably not a position as widely held amond Tuhoe as you might think.

    Christchurch • Since Jan 2007 • 175 posts Report Reply

  • Michael Fitzgerald,

    I'ld argue how modern our state is when we have no constitutional ties to stop Parliment from overruling the judiciary.

    The ditty is a little distasteful, while reading it I thought of "The Settlers Lament" Taranaki Punch 1860.

    Tuhoe Nation & New Zealand State are interesting, as we are both in the Republic of Christchurch. We have many ethnic teams who play sport or other cultural groups that go overseas, some funded by the state. Why would heart felt communications be any different.

    And lets not default to the UN as our moral/legal barometer. They're not democratic to say the least and set up to maintain US/European power after WWII.

    Since May 2007 • 631 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    Neither Tame Iti (for Tuhoe or otherwise) nor the Fiji junta enjoy any sort of official international recognition, so it's a rather pointless gesture.

    Well, the Fiji junta seemed to get a lot of recognition last week at the Pacific Island leaders forum.

    And as Tuhoe can hardly exist outside the context of the modern New Zealand state, I regard protest to that end as something of a moot point

    Protest activities are full of gestures, and some of them are indeed pointless.

    The point of declaring a sovereign nation would not be to become one. That would confuse tactics (declaring yourself a sovereign nation) with strategy (getting a message about your history to the general public). Every time Tame Iti or someone else does something 'sovereign nation-like' that message comes back out in the media and we all get reminded of something that the activist wants us to think about.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • David Cauchi,

    I'm all for an autonomous Tuhoe nation, but even someone of the meanest intelligence should realise that blowing people up is not the way to go about getting one.

    <a href="http://www.nskstate.com/state/index.php">Embassies for nations that don't actually exist</a>, on the other hand, are a different story.

    Only avant-garde art can save us!

    Wellington • Since Jul 2007 • 121 posts Report Reply

  • David Cauchi,

    Stink. Stuffed that one up right and proper. Here's the link:

    http://www.nskstate.com/state/index.php

    Wellington • Since Jul 2007 • 121 posts Report Reply

  • Andrew Paul Wood,

    Rather my point is, wasn't Iti doing more damage to his cause by cosying up to an unelected dictator who has comitted some terrible acts on his own people - what does that say about his values. And while, yes Mr Bananarama (yes, I am being facetious) did recieve ovations at the Pacific Forum, he got a bit of a telling off from the Solomon Islands rep.
    I find this whole move to 'brown solidarity' regardless of politics to be a very short-sighted move on the part of some activists. And no, I'm not being naive, I thinking in terms of Pacific Realpolitik.

    Christchurch • Since Jan 2007 • 175 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Although it's doubtless scary for those involved, the current drama has given anarchism its best airing in years.

    The Civil Rights Defence Committee has a What is anarchism? page:

    Unfortunately, we see our lives being increasingly pushed to be competitive, violent and stressful, and for many, pointless and deeply unsatisfying. There seems to be no alternative to a life mostly spent trying to make ends meet, in front of a PlayStation or TV, or indulging in alcohol or anti-depressants, broken only by brief holidays. For the better off, travel and immersion in other cultures provides the colour and excitement that's lacking in their own lives. We think people deserve better. Of course, getting rid of capitalism and the state and instituting a cooperative society is going to take a bit of work, but do you really have anything more important to do?

    It's a bit patronising, isn't it?

    And Radical Youth, the organisation Omar Hamed is involved with, also has a What is Anarchism? page:

    Anarchists believe that power and wealth should be shared equally, and not concentrated in the hands of a minority. When a person or a small group of people has dominance or authority over other people, they become corrupted. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely". Anarchists believe that not only is the government illegitimate it's also unnecessary. The kind of state violence that is committed daily on the poor all over the world, the poverty and wars are reasons that the state needs to be smashed.

    It's not a half-measures philosophy ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Andrew Paul Wood,

    The great irony is that it is capitalism and democratic government that allow them the luxury of waving their placards (not slaving in the treacle mines) and not being shot (sigh).

    I think Larry Niven said about Anarchism something along the lines of that it's a beautiful dream, but unfortunately too fragile to sustain itself. Human societies simply cannot operate that way be cause we are by nature selfish and competative.

    I suspect that if the Anarchists ever achieved their goals, they wouldn't find it all that comfy. Anarchy is anarchic - and anyone who can say "smash the state" with a traight face needs to be dragged out of the 1960s and locked up.

    Christchurch • Since Jan 2007 • 175 posts Report Reply

  • kmont,

    Anarchy is anarchic - and anyone who can say "smash the state" with a traight face needs to be dragged out of the 1960s and locked up.

    Locked up? Really? Harsh.

    wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 485 posts Report Reply

  • Andrew Paul Wood,

    Oh god - I'm getting right wing in my old age... I accidentally found myself agreeing with Michael Laws the other day - I need help.

    Christchurch • Since Jan 2007 • 175 posts Report Reply

  • Andrew Paul Wood,

    ...I think I'm turning into Murry Deaker... help meeee

    Christchurch • Since Jan 2007 • 175 posts Report Reply

  • kmont,

    Rather my point is, wasn't Iti doing more damage to his cause by cosying up to an unelected dictator who has comitted some terrible acts on his own people - what does that say about his values. And while, yes Mr Bananarama (yes, I am being facetious) did recieve ovations at the Pacific Forum, he got a bit of a telling off from the Solomon Islands rep.
    I find this whole move to 'brown solidarity' regardless of politics to be a very short-sighted move on the part of some activists. And no, I'm not being naive, I thinking in terms of Pacific Realpolitik.

    I tend to agree with all of that but right now I am more interested in having more information about what actually happened in the Uraweras. It's not just about Tame Iti after all. There are 17 people directly implicated in.......what exactly? I am not inclined to be snide about activists for the hell of it. I am tending to focus my attentions on the police's actions. I mean, seriously, 8 cars of police for a 72 year old??????? I know they say that it isn't related to the "terror raids" but even still. Overkill is how it looks to me.

    wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 485 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    I'm all for an autonomous Tuhoe nation

    I'm not and I don't mind saying so. I think it's a really stupid idea. I can't think of anything good about it either for Tuhoe or NZ.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    km: me too.

    It's been how long now, and what have we got? Some minor firearms charges, which may or may not proven in court.

    This massive demonstration of police power seems quite gratuitous at this point.

    And what's with the "(sigh)", Andrew?

    The great irony is that it is capitalism and democratic government that allow them the luxury of waving their placards (not slaving in the treacle mines) and not being shot (sigh).

    For someone who's into democratic government you don't seem too into the values that maintain it.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • David Cauchi,

    I think Larry Niven said about Anarchism something along the lines of that it's a beautiful dream, but unfortunately too fragile to sustain itself. Human societies simply cannot operate that way be cause we are by nature selfish and competative.

    I suspect that if the Anarchists ever achieved their goals, they wouldn't find it all that comfy.

    Larry Niven is (was?) a libertarian, so he would say that.

    Nestor Makhno successfully established an anarchist society during the Russian Revolution. And then there were the anarchists in the Spanish Civil War, who, like Makhno, were dicked over by authoritarian socialists scared of being shown up.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2007 • 121 posts Report Reply

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