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Ooh look! Hu Jintao would be so proud! Banning Falun Gong from a parade because it's "political". Did the Wellington Council every wonder why Falun Gong is "political"? Could it be because the CCP has banned them in China?
By that logic, Christianity is "political" for being banned in Saudi Arabia. Are they going to stop Chinese Christians from parading too?
...they're about to get sued for it!
If local government just did their job and butted out of people's lives, they wouldn't need fancy logos and PR. You'd think that after all that money they'd come up with something original.
Coge's general classification of hippies.
The most common type is the "Field hippy".
At one time you might
have found these hippies living in a potato patch, or similar disused
agricultural settings. They are also known as the "common garden hippy"
or the "bearded cardiganed" variety.
Often found in an urban setting, where they occasionally go unrecognized.
Another numerous variety is the "Coastal hippy"
Typically living
within 300 metres of coastline, often in communities of high
unemployment. They tend to congregate with artists, left-wing
activists, pot-smoking conspiracy theorists etc. Strangely enough many
now own million dollar beachfront properties with deferred maintenance
issues.
I remember this
being discussed a while back, but then the issue died as far as I could
tell. It's a huge surprise coming from the government that hates tax
cuts. They've actually lowered tax. Incredible.
The changes will apply from 2008/09 financial year and its about bloody time. You can claim deductions and rebates for donations for any sum up to the level of their your net income, instead of the measley $1890.00 rebate threshold on individuals or the 5 percent deduction limit on donations made by companies and Maori bodies.
They reckon it will lower tax take by about 25 million bucks. Money well spent if you ask me. Private donations and charitable organisations need all the encouragement they can get.
Kiwis (indeed people generally) are fundamentally good generous people, and want to help. The concept of the government benefiting from this through taxation always pissed me off. Plus, small government ideology relies in part on people helping other people voluntarily. Plus me and many others stand to gain more financially from this law change than any income tax change proposed by National lately anyway.
"Tuhoe spokesman Tamati Kruger said the commemoration may not now go ahead.
He said a flyer using the word "freedom fighters" gained the attention of police.
"Immediately those words conjured up other imagery for the police. They had a different view of of what may be going on here," Mr Kruger said."
Yes, the police are cracking down on freedom fighters. What a sad, sorry state this country has gotten itself into.
Of course you expect the Democrats to be awful. But it's interesting that there no blue-dogs in the race - not a single Zell Miller type. With an unpopular war being fought, this is to be expected, but it's nonetheless a shame that there seems so little variation in what the Democrats have to offer. The only real point of difference is a sense that, with Hillary Clinton, we know what we are getting. And while that's better than any of the other Donks, she's still a corrupt snake that shilled Lincoln Bedroom stays for donations and should never be let near the White House doors again.
[As an aside, Zell Miller's speech at the 2004 Republican Convention is one of the best I have ever heard. Bush went up ten points in the polls after this speech, and it is doubtful he would have won otherwise]
And yet, it says something about the state of American politics that I would almost prefer a Democratic President to the ghastly alternatives the Republicans have on offer. John McCain and Mitt Romney are about as wet as you can get without being RINOs. Fred Thompson is desperately trying to inherit Reagan's mantle, but he's a hollow shell and his flaws are beginning to show through as the campaign progresses. Huckabee is just scary. Giuliani has some merit, but I worry about his authoritarian tendencies, and whether perhaps 9/11 has overhyped him at a time when he hitherto had quite low approval ratings in New York.
That leaves Ron Paul. Poor Ron. There's not much love out there for him
- imagine having your supporters called "Paulestinians"! Until
very recently, he was seen as the GOP's Denis Kucinich - an unelectable
extremist. That was until he started raising money. Lots and lots of money (more than John McCain in fact). And started doing favourably in one-on-one polls.
The attitude has now gone from "ignore him and he'll go away" to "Stop
him! before he goes any further!" The hate is
understandable. Paul's zealotry has shown them up as
big-spending, authoritarian wussbags. And they are horrified that
one of their own could possibly be against the Iraq war.
Paul's naivety with regard to foreign policy bothers me. Despite his libertarianism, his foreign policy seems to mirror Jimmy Carter's (which was the one thing that freaked me out about John Kerry). He is the best of a bad bunch, but his dogmatism would be a threat to global security. I'm cheering him on, but only because there's nobody else. Ronald Reagan truly is dead these days.
The year was 1986, the venue The Terminus in Wellington (now Saatchi & Saatchi), the hard rock bands were Strikemaster with Blitz supporting them. Wellington had a thriving music scene, lots of great bands doing original material. On that night an underaged coge had just finished playing his fender jazz with Blitz & was hanging out by the lighting console, enjoying the show.
These were the years following the '81 tour, & there was still a strong sense of dislike between some of the population & the cops. The riot squad had served its purpose by that stage, but the training & desire to use it was still there. On the nights Wellington rock bands played the bars were typically raided by large numbers of police, dragging many of the paying patrons outside to search & harrass them. This went on night after night. That Friday night in July they hauled some long-haired guy out by his neck down the stairs. The people revolted, the bar exploded with rage & bottles rained down on the ten plus police who retreated down the stairwell. Strikemaster stopped their performance, & those of us who knew where to go sheltered in the dressing room. We all expected kitted out reinforcements to arrive, but they didn't return. The top bar at the Terminus lost it's license that night. In my opinion & that of others who were there, the events of that night were caused by the the actions of the police. The entertainment might not have been to everyones liking, but essentially we were just a bunch of young people having fun on Friday night.
Following the arrests last Monday under terrorism laws I can see certain parallels. It is a feeling you get seeing the police being used as the blunt instrument of the state. The trials will be murky affairs. There are some serious reputations at stake here, & the prosecutions will reflect this. So when will we get to hear the truth? If there was/is a serious terrorist plot then good on the police for taking strident action. But where were the suicidal religious zealots you would expect to be involved in such a plot? If, in fact there was no genuine plot, then there is a much greater reason to be afraid.
I would like to expand the Whig's roll of authors. I'd like to co-opt some people who either comment a lot on political blogs, or have their own blog but perhaps don't post on it all that frequently.
The only qualification required is that you are a Whig ie. a small government liberal who believes in greater individual freedom and increased personal responsibility for one's actions. And that you have something to say every couple of weeks or so at least.
Leave me a comment if you are keen.
The premises has been re-occupied. Normal service shall resume shortly.
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