Posts by Euan Mason
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Wewege comes across like a lying inconsiderate bastard.
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It's bizarre to separate innovation, research and development from science. Does anyone know what the rationale is?
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Hard News: This time it's Syria, in reply to Bart Janssen,
You are referring to Russia I presume. I guess my only comment is that Russia has had a long standing political and economic relationship with Syria. There’s a chance they know more about the intricacies of the situation than folks in the Western world are giving them credit for.
This implies that the intricacies of the situation justify gassing people. The world needs to make some kind of response. So we should ask the Russians what they propose. If they say, "nothing", then let's see their justification.
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Hard News: This time it's Syria, in reply to Chris Waugh,
One reason I think nobody should have veto power
I agree. How do you get someone to give up such an advantage? I’d argue that vetoes from the others hurt each party with a veto, and so they should agree in their own interests to relinquish veto power. Pigs will fly, as well.
A revolt from all countries without a veto might work, but there are enough people in the US who believe that the UN is evil for such a strategy to backfire.
So for now we have to live with an imperfect setup, and it's better than nothing.
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“If there’s any good news, it’s that one will expect New Zealand to do anything in the foreseeable future. We ought to be glad of that.”
I think you meant “nobody will expect…” and I agree with you.
It’s a hell of a problem. The UN has been effective in so many ways, but when a member with veto power behaves badly then it goes off the rails.
The implied view that gassing children is wrong but bombing children is OK is problematic as well.
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Speaker: Naked Inside the Off-Ramp, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
Presumably because it’s impolite rather than untrue.
Maybe since he’s chosen to engage here, he could justify his man Dunne selling his vote and tell us what he got for it? Ambassadorship? Ministerial seat back? Clear run at the next election? Or just hard cash from some US-backed ‘trust’?
The personal invective is uncalled for.
I agree with most the second paragraph. Dunne’s behaviour in all this has been shocking. It would be good to see a response from him to those questions that demonstrated some integrity.
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Speaker: Naked Inside the Off-Ramp, in reply to Grant Taylor,
These differences may also not be sensed or articulated by many New Zealanders, which would explain why he appeals so successfully to the pragmatism in NZ culture in which a high placing on some leaderboard is sufficient proof of a successful strategy.
The key differences between most corporates and a democracy are in the treatment of minorities and the engagement with minority opinions. Key's behaviour during public hearings on the bill made it plain that in his view alternative opinions were a waste of his time.
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The PM has demonstrated that he doesn’t understand the political process. He apparently views NZ as a kind of corporate entity, where the executive should have control not just over policy discussions but also ultimately over people’s rights to express opinions or mount arguments against the status quo, and where economic performance is paramount. The new act’s emphasis on “economic damage to New Zealand” speaks volumes. Where are the references to social damage, environmental degradation or threats to our freedoms?
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Hard News: Fluency, ease of manner - and…, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
Exclusive to Herald this morning…..
Key pledges to restrict Agency’s ProbeThe article also says, "In the course of the interview he said incorrectly that under the bill, the GCSB would not be allowed to look at the content of communications when conducting their cyber-security functions."
Key says, "Trust me". Sorry, JK, it's not about you. Some future PM may be untrustworthy and constraints on the GCSB's domestic spying need not, and should not simply rely on having a nice guy in the PM's seat.
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All good points, Russell, well done. Reason slips through the cracks created by a professional interviewee, and we cannot afford to let it go. The two core issues are the GCSB's uncontrolled access to metadata, and the lack of independent oversight on the use of these data. Does Key really lack the imagination to see that these are dangerous? They could be fixed easily, so what does Key get out of ignoring them?