May I invite anybody with more pictures of today's protest at the nationalisation of free speech to send them to me at organon@ ihug.co.nz.UPDATE 1: Scoop has pics and a braindead account of the protest. David Farrar explains why he ended up as MC ...
UPDATE 2: Brief video of Marching down Lambton Quay.
UPDATE 3: And more videos here (courtesy of Andrew Falloon) of some speeches which really should have done better:
Entering the grounds of Parliament
David Farrar addressing the crowd
Stephen Franks addressing the crowd
Gordon Copeland addressing the crowd
And here courtesy of Whale Oil:
Nick Smith - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKwQq5Ovy78
Jeanette Fitzsimons – http://youtube.com/watch?v=a-YSFmRFuPo
Bill Supporter - http://youtube.com/watch?v=PpxtBHWnEVg
TVNZ Coverage
David St George (Includes photos)
And more photos courtesy of Phil:
7 comments:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0711/S00346.htm
Good boy, Bernard.
Once upon a time the left held the monopoly on demonstrations. All the usual suspects were always on the march down Queen St or Lambton Quay for all the usual causes. Everybody else was at work.
It must incense this govt that they no longer hold that monopoly. The cheek of these marchers to upset that applecart! Ooh, I love to see tables turned! :)
How many Kiwis actually turned out?
Seems the silent majority is content to remain silent. And Helen is happy to grant them that silent contentment...
As is well said, democracy is when the people get what they want, good and hard.
LGM
Were you there?
Yes, in Ak. But, I am not a voter and I can leave here. Where were all you Kiwis?
LGM
LGM, like you I'm not a Kiwi and I was disappointed that more people didn't attend the marches.
But apathy isn't just a Kiwi phenomenon--Australians from the right side of politics are just as bad, and what about the Brits? They've had the most draconian anti-democratic laws in their history rammed down their throats with barely a whimper of protest.
The right don't lack conviction, what we lack is a culture of activism. Because largely we're too bloody busy earning a living and paying for the lefty leech welfare bludgers to have time to attend marches.
KG
The right is just as bad as the left. Neither is humane or moral.
As far as the apathetic "middle" majority is concerned, they are little more than social ballast.
An associate wrote to me stating that he thinks this is where Rand and others made a serious mistake. In short, he contends that Rand did not realise that most people are not interested in Individual Rights (after all, they are in an indecent hurry to appoint others to take them away). Therefore they can not have Individual Rights (once yielded, they are gone) and their betters and masters should rule over them. That is the rightful order of things.
That would necessarily mean that one can't derive a universal system of Individual Rights from Morality and Nature of Man. The situation would be that there must be different formulations determined according to how one thinks and acts. For example: since a criminal who initiates force negates his Individual Rights by not recognising them (and therefore opens himself up to retributive force being applied against him), so too people who give away their Idividual Rights, by not recognising or defending them, negate them. Such poor creatures are entitled to be treated only as chattels, slaves or economic units to be consumed or used at will.
What that means is that most people are not to be treated as thinking human beings with Liberty, Property or an ability to Pursue their own Values (and hence happiness). This can be determined from their nature and actions (or lack thereof).
A chilling formulation; my correspondant writes he has much success with his approach and its application. What if he's the one who is correct?
LGM
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