As a former lawyer for Ngai Tahu, Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson is obviously able to play both sides of the fence when it comes to both pulling down and distributing taxpayer dollars by the million.
Part Two of the Waitangi Tribunal’s report into the history of government actions against Tuhoe described
sweeping confiscations, … and how … land was removed by fraudulent methods. And it describes unjust war too, highlighting a series of engagements from the end of 1865 to May 1866.
So much so apparently unjust.
But as one prominent commentator pointed out at the time, what the Waitangi Tribunal’s sanitisers historians “neglect to do is set those dreadful deeds in the context of the equally dreadful deeds that preceded them.” That commentator is Chris Trotter.
Those reading the full context of Tuhoe’s history, and New Zealand’s, will realise that in the mid-1860s the country was poised delicately between two possible futures—one offering civilisation, and the other a return to the tribal savagery the Treaty had promised to end. As Trotter says, “Tuhoe picked the wrong side in the war to decide what sort of country New Zealand would become.”
And how!
To tell that history, let’s start with a story.
Imagine, if you will, that a savage murderer has been moving up the country, and he's heading your way. He seeks refuge in your large, rambling property (which you share with extended family). Instead of either handing him over or doing him in (in both of which you would be justified), you and your whanau choose instead to join him in his savagery and plunder, heading out on expeditions of rapine and looting before coming home to hunker down in the least accessible parts of your refuge to fend off John Law, who naturally wants to put a stop to your lawlessness and brutality.
The law decides the safest way to stop you and your partner in crime is to starve you out, a strategy that meets with success—but whose perfectly justifiable results a century-and-a-half later are used to justify further pillage, this time of taxpayers apparently ignorant of the reasons for the original dispossession.
This is the short history of what happened when Tuhoe gave refuge to stone killer Te Kooti before joining in enthusiastically in his genocidal killing sprees—for which you and I are being punished now for the punishment that was meted out to the killers then.
It is akin to you and I having our pockets picked to pay compensation to the grandchildren of Ted Bundy or Fred West for police having damaging the Bundy/West properties while removing all the bodies stored under the floor.
Quite apart from the issue of the national parks, does this seem in any way either fair or justified?
Did Tuhoe’s behaviour not constitute some sort of reason for punishment?
While you consider those questions, just read in some more detail about what actually happened.
The year was 1869, and the Kooti One had gone on the run after murdering around sixty people (both Maori and non-Maori) in Poverty Bay, eventually finding support for his campaign of continuing murder under the shelter of a supportive Tuhoe. For three years from their base in the Ureweras, with the full support, backing and connivance of Tuhoe leaders, he and his Tuhoe allies distributed rapine, murder and pillage to all around them—regularly crossing the Kaingaroa plains, the Ureweras and surrounding districts to pillage, burn and kill. Just one example of his blood lust was the slaughter of 64 defenceless women and children in the Ngati Kahungunu pa at Mohaka, murdered in cold blood as a “lesson” to their fathers and husbands.
Any decent government is going to put a stop to this, which is precisely what the colonial government did.
To drive him out of his lair, says the Oxford History of New Zealand, "Government forces applied a scorched earth policy so that the Tuhoe tribe could not shelter Te Kooti and the dwindling remnants of his band," following which he was driven out and 448,000 acres of Tuhoe land was confiscated as punishment, 230,600 acres of which was later returned. (Ironically, as reward for his murders, Te Kooti himself was eventually given several acres of land in Ohiwa, BoP, in 1891! So much for justice.)
So the supposed historic 'injustice' for which today’s settlement is being signed, the confiscations of Tuhoe’s land for their decision to plump for savagery over civilisation, was the product of a tribe unwilling to live under the rule of law who knowingly harboured a mass-murderer, and who then joined him on a campaign of murder.
“Violent dispossession”? It looks to me like the initiation of violence went largely one way.
In some circles, mere partial confiscation would be seen as being let off easily.
If violent dispossession is to be despised, and it is, then surely the violent dispossession of people’s lives by Tuhoe and Te Kooti must be worth at least addressing, no?
Because to talk about Tuhoe’s dispossession without any reference at all to the reasons for that dispossession is just inexcusable, particularly when such context-dropping is used to justify scores of millions of taxpayers dollars heading towards the wallets of the descendants of those who helped harbour the thug Te Kooti all those years ago.
In today’s age of hand-wringing and revisionist history however, nothing (least of all the facts of history) is a barrier to today's tribal 'leaders' receiving large amounts of taxpayer largesse as a reward for living in the past -- a past which is largely a fiction of their own making.
So (to come back to where we first started), it seems the history the Minister wishes us to read is not the history he thinks it is. Or at least not all the history. But then, lawyers-for-pay don’t really do history so much as they do special pleading-- but then, when it comes to “doing history,” neither do the more mainstream media, the Government, or the Waitangi Tribunal.
Not to mention here the farce of signing a Waitangi settlement with a tribe who never signed the Waitangi Yreaty, for an injustice that was anything but.
The only injustice perpetrated here is that being dealt to the taxpayers of New Zealand -- who once again will be forced to pay large amounts of money to tribalists for things we didn't do -- and to the tamariki of Tuhoe, who are being taught once again that tribalism and a focus on the imaginary grievances of the past will have a bigger payoff for them today than will addressing and meeting the real challenges of the future, and taking up the genuine opportunities of the present.
Which would really be a start. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Figures and quotes are taken from the Oxford History of New Zealand, (pgs. 186, 187); Penguin History of New Zealand, (pg. 219); 'Te Kooti,' NZ.History.Net; 'Te Kooti,' An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1966.
Admits Tuhoe negotiator Tamati Kruger, who is today about to sign a deal with the government signaling the start of negotiations for 'redress' under the Te Tiriti, the Waitangi process is the only game in town by which to feel the wholesale largesse of the taxpayer -- including, he hopes, a payout for perceived historic injustices, as well as perceived indignities inflected last year during the anti-terrorism raids.
Ironically, the historic 'injustice' and the contemporary indignity have a link -- they were both the result of harbouring a madman.
The historic 'injustice' occurred in the late 1860s-early 1870s when Tuhoe harboured guerrilla 'warrior' Te Kooti. The Kooti One had gone on the run after murdering around sixty Maori and non-Maori in Poverty Bay, and eventually found support for his campaign of murder under the shelter of a supportive Tuhoe. For three years he and his Tuhoe allies waged war from the Ureweras on all around, with the full support and connivance of Tuhoe leaders, regularly crossing the Kaingaroa plains, the Urewera and surrounding districts to pillage, burn and kill. To drive him out of his lair, "Government forces applied a scorched earth policy so that the Tuhoe tribe could not shelter Te Kooti and the dwindling remnants of his band," following which he was driven out, and 448,000 acres of land was confiscated from Tuhoe as punishment, 230,600 acres of which was later returned. (Ironically, as reward for his murder, Te Kooti himself was eventually given several acres of land in Ohiwa, BoP, in 1891.)
So the supposed historic 'injustice' was the product of a tribe unwilling to live under the rule of law who harboured a known killer, and joined him on a campaign of murder. In some circles, mere partial confiscation would be see as being let off easily.
The contemporary 'injustice' for which the Waitangi Tribunal's taxpayer salve is sought is the well-publicised anti-terrorism raids of last year, the result of Tuhoe leaders knowingly permitting Tame Iti to train young thugs and would-be terrorists on their own patch. Once again, the supposed 'injustice,' which in this case involved such heinous actions as searching an empty bus, was brought on by another poor decision to harbour an idiot.
So in neither case can a clear injustice be proven -- quite the contrary in both cases -- and in any case Tuhoe was never a signatory to the Treaty. In the age of hand-wringing and revisionist history however, neither is likely to prove a barrier to today's Tuhoe 'leaders' receiving large amounts of taxpayer largesse as a reward for living in the past -- a past which is largely a fiction of their own making.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Figures and quotes are taken from the Oxford History of New Zealand, (pgs. 186, 187); Penguin History of New Zealand, (pg. 219); 'Te Kooti,' NZ.History.Net; 'Te Kooti,' An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1966.
“I doubt many people have an issue with the actual decision.”
Well, I’m one. But let’s crack on. DPF continues on with the thorny issue of the national park :
“ No other treaty settlement has had a national park as part of it – unless it is gifted back. According to reports the Government has offered co-management of the park, which is not insignificant.”
“No other treaty settlement has had a national park as part of it – but no other tribe has been so violently dispossessed of their land and had it turned into a national park.”
“Violently dispossessed?” Does this man know any history at all, I wonder? Those two words suggest not.
Let’s look first at the direct reasons for the dispossession. And to do that, let’s start with a story.
Imagine, if you will, that a savage murderer has been moving up the country, and he's heading your way. He seeks refuge in your large, rambling property (which you share with extended family). Instead of either handing him over or doing him in (in both of which you would be justified), you choose instead to join him in his savagery and plunder, heading out on expeditions of rapine and looting before coming home to hunker down in the least accessible parts of your refuge to fend off John Law, who naturally wants to put a stop to the lawlessness and brutality.
The law decides the safest option is to starve out you and your partner in crime, a strategy that meets with success—but whose perfectly justifiable results a century-and-a-half later are used to justify further pillage, this time of taxpayers apparently ignorant of the reasons for the original dispossession.
This is the short history of what happened when Tuhoe gave refuge to stone killer Te Kooti, conspired in his genocidal killing sprees, for which you and I are now being punished for the punishment that was meted out then .
Quite apart from the issue of the national parks, does that seem in any way either fair or justified? Did Tuhoe’s behaviour not constitute some sort of reason for punishment?
While you think about that, just read in some more detail about what actually happened.
The year was 1869, and the Kooti One had gone on the run after murdering around sixty people (both Maori and non-Maori) in Poverty Bay, eventually finding support for his campaign of continuing murder under the shelter of a supportive Tuhoe. For three years he and his Tuhoe allies waged war from the Ureweras on all around, with the full support and connivance of Tuhoe leaders, regularly crossing the Kaingaroa plains, the Urewera and surrounding districts to pillage, burn and kill. Just one example of his blood lust was the slaughter of 64 defenceless women and children in the Ngati Kahungunu pa at Mohaka, murdered in cold blood as a “lesson” to their fathers and husbands.
Any decent government is going to put a stop to this, which is precisely what the colonial government did.
To drive him out of his lair, says the Oxford History of New Zealand, "Government forces applied a scorched earth policy so that the Tuhoe tribe could not shelter Te Kooti and the dwindling remnants of his band," following which he was driven out and 448,000 acres of Tuhoe land was confiscated as punishment, 230,600 acres of which was later returned. (Ironically, as reward for his murders, Te Kooti himself was eventually given several acres of land in Ohiwa, BoP, in 1891! So much for justice.)
So the supposed historic 'injustice' was the product of a tribe unwilling to live under the rule of law who knowingly harboured a mass-murderer, and who then joined him on a campaign of murder.
“Violent dispossession”? It looks to me like the initiation of violence went all one way.
In some circles, mere partial confiscation would be seen as being let off easily.
If violent dispossession is to be despised, and it is, then surely the violent dispossession of people’s lives by Tuhoe and Te Kooti must be worth at least addressing, no?
Because to talk about Tuhoe’s dispossession without any reference at all to the reasons for that dispossession is just inexcusable, particularly when such context-dropping is used to justify scores of millions of taxpayers dollars heading towards the wallets of the descendants of those who helped harbour the thug Te Kooti all those years ago.
In today’s age of hand-wringing and revisionist history however, nothing (and certainly not the facts of history) is likely to prove a barrier to today's Tuhoe 'leaders' receiving large amounts of taxpayer largesse as a reward for living in the past -- a past which is largely a fiction of their own making.
So (to come back to where we first started), it seems popular bloggers just don't do history -- but then neither do the more mainstream media, the Government, or the Waitangi Tribunal.
Not to mention the farce of conducting a Waitangi deal with a tribe who never signed the Waitangi treaty, for an injustice that was anything but.
If anyone’s being done like a dinner, it’s us. We taxpayers.
The only injustice perpetrated here is that being dealt to the taxpayers of New Zealand -- who once again will be forced to pay large amounts of money to tribalists for things we didn't do -- and to the tamariki of Tuhoe, who are being taught once again that tribalism and a focus on the imaginary grievances of the past will have a bigger payoff for them than will addressing and meeting the real challenges of the future and taking up the genuine opportunities of the present.
The whole damn thing is a disgrace. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Figures and quotes are taken from the Oxford History of New Zealand, (pgs. 186, 187); Penguin History of New Zealand, (pg. 219); 'Te Kooti,' NZ.History.Net; 'Te Kooti,' An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1966.
Part Two of the Waitangi Tribunal’s report into the history of government actions against Tuhoe has just been released.
At 1000 pages, it … is weighty reading…. The report … describes … sweeping confiscations, … and how … land was removed by fraudulent methods. And it describes unjust war too, highlighting a series of engagements from the end of 1865 to May 1866.”
But there’s something missing, as one local commentator mentioned on Friday What the Waitangi Tribunal’s sanitisers historians “neglect to do,” said that commentator, “is set those dreadful deeds in the context of the equally dreadful deeds that preceded them.”
That writer is Chris Trotter, who I’m both pleased and astonished to see has joined me in helping to indicate some of that context, and some of those dreadful deeds, without which any judgement about “injustices” committed by the government are moot. “Tuhoe picked the wrong side in the war to decide what sort of country New Zealand would become,” concludes Chris. And so they did.
UPDATE: “Conveniently one-eyed” Lew at KiwiPolitico calls this insistence on context-keeping--by insisting on knowledge of the fullcontext of Tuhoe’s history, he says, both Chris and I “seem to be of the view that the Crown would have been entirely justified in leaving not one stone upon another, not one man, woman or child alive.” Go figure. I wonder what he’d say about the bomb that ended the War in the Pacific.
According to the commentariat this morning the police should be harshly condemned for "branding" the "Urewera Sixteen" as terrorists. All sorts of commentators have declared that the police have "branded" them as terrorists, for which they now deserve compensation.
MAORI PARTY MP TE URUROA FLAVELL said the Ruatoki community had been traumatised by the raids, and "had been stuck with the terrorist label..."
LAWYER MOANA JACKSON: "The label of terrorist has`been bandied about..."
JOHN MINTO: ""They have been branded terrorists by the police and that's been bandied right across New Zealand through the media and that's absolutely unconscionable."
TUHOE ELDER PAKI NIKORA "We still can't understand why this brand of terrorism has been placed on him ... and is branded on us as an iwi."
PROTESTORS OUTSIDE THE LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE LAST WEEKEND: "Helen Clark." "Terrorist!" [Repeat ad nauseum]
Trouble is, this is a group of people who've been interviewing each other. It wasn't the police who "branded" these people -- no policeman has called anyone a terrorist, and I would challenge anyone to find one who has -- the only "branding" of the type of which these commentators have accused the police has been by the commentators themselves in their noisy insistence over the last few weeks that they've been so labelled:
NIKORA (17 Oct): ""We are being branded as terrorists."
FLAVELL (Oct 26): "I s'pose the main fear is that they're seen to be and will always be remembered as the Tuhoe the terrorists..."
LAWYER MOANA JACKSON (26 Oct): "Maori must not buy into the police tactic of branding their people as terrorists..."
MAORI ACTIVIST MIKE SMITH (25 Oct): "“If there was any terrorism in Tuhoe it was state sponsored..."
SIGNS HELD BY PROTESTORS OUTSIDE COURTS AROUND THE COUNTRY: "Terrorists - yeah right."
SCOOP PROFILES (13 October): "Scoop.co.nz is continuing to profile each of the so-called terrorists..."
The question is, "so called" bywhom?
What "police tactic" to "brand" people as terrorists?
If there was any branding done, it was a rush by the defendants' supporters to wrap themselves in the word and take a strong leap for the branding iron.
Protestors in particular were quick to object to the "label" of terrorism being used against those arrested, and very noisy in their own use of the word last weekend outside the Labour Party conference, but the fact is that the "label" was used mostly by them and their fellow travellers and the commentariat, NOT by the police.
Right from the very first day, for example, when the raids were carried out on October 15, Police Commissioner Howard Broad explained very carefully that the search warrants they actioned were issued
under the Summary Proceedings Act to search for evidence of the committing of offences against the Arms Act and possibly the Terrorism Suppression Act.
Police will be gathering and assessing all available evidence before making a decision as to the nature of the charges to be laid under the TSA.
We're aware that this is the first time that the Terrorism Suppression Act has been considered in terms of an operation. We are, therefore, proceeding with full care in talking to people and assessing information before we can determine whether there is sufficient evidence to seek the consent of the Attorney General through the Solicitor General to charge anyone under that Act. [video here of press conference Oct 15]
That was the only time the word was used by the Police Commissioner, and only (necessarily) in the context of those search warrants. As he explained this morning on Radio NZ [audio here], the word "terrorism" was only used by him in explaining the basis for the searches, and only every by the police force in that context. The fact is that no "branding" at all was done by police, either as a tactic, or a policy, or even by mistake. No "labels" were so applied. The police, as Broad said, were proceeding with full care in talking to people and assessing information before determining whether or not sufficient evidence existed to charge anyone under the Terrorism Suppression Act. They were entitled to some patience from the rest of us in doing that.
It was not the police who were hyperventilating -- it was the commentariat.
Perhaps instead of drop-of-the-hat hysteria commentators and politicians could instead learn to breathe through their nose on occasions, to wait for the evidence before judging, and maybe just adopt the level of maturity their age and positions and supposed acumen might lead us to expect they'd exhibit.
"Co-governance is not the goal. "Co-governance is not our term. Mana Motuhake is our term. So we are committed to washing away dependency on the Crown, and raising maximum authority for Tuhoe people. "I don’t see it as the final destination. I don’t see co-governance as the answer. But I think it’s the next bus stop in a journey that has to be made. It’s everyone’s journey. It’s like gravity, you can’t defy it. It’s on its way."
Welcome to another ramble round the interweb, another week in which the politicians won while we were all done over like a dinner. Here are the links and larks from around the ‘net I’ve dug out for you this week:
“It isn't that the joke was unfunny. It was that he would even think to joke about Tuhoe after just causing them so much pain. That was thoroughly and dismally revealing.” John Key, Tuhoe and trust - LINDSAY MITCHELL
“John Key’s fears of being a hangi-filler for the people of Tuhoe pale into insignificance next to the ongoing cannibalism of taxpayers by a multitude of freeloaders, including those moochers currently riding the Treaty of Waitangi gravy train… “Maori tribalists are not the only cannibals. Any New Zealander who believes their need constitutes a claim on the life of other innocent New Zealanders accepts the premise that it is right that some humans be consumed by others.” Tribal Predators Cannibalise Taxpayers – RICHARD McGRATH
Song of the day really has to be the venerable Puha & Pakeha by Rod Derrett, a “missionary” from a less PC past (kindly pulled out of the ether and dusted off by Keeping Stock)
With all the trumpeting last week about the 25,000 “seasonally adjusted” drop in the unemployment rate, no-one seems to have spotted that around 14,500 more people who can't find work and would otherwise have been on the unemployment benefit are now receiving student allowances instead. That is, no-one spotted it until Lindsay Mitchell did. Student allowances up 63 percent since 2006 – LINDSAY MITCHELL
Let’s have some Q&A on the disastrous. Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. 1. Who should pay for the clean up? Answer: BP 2. Should government regulate the transportation and extraction of dangerous goods? Answer: No. 3. Is it proper for the government to oversee activities that represent the potential of mass devastation? Answer: No. Still, Baby, Drill – YARON BROOK at PAJAMAS MEDIA Comment: "There is a mistaken premise in your questions..." – GALILEO BLOGS [hat tip Thrutch]
“Instead of moving the debate on energy policy forward, the spill is being used to grind preexisting policy axes. Unfortunately, those axes were none too sharp to begin with, and the grinding now in play does more to confuse than to enlighten.” Gulf oil spill: same old arguments - Jerry Taylor & Peter van Doren , L.A. TIMES
“It is vitally important that BP, and the oil industry generally, learns lessons from this accident. But it is wrong to overstate what has happened, and it is especially wrong to use this accident as an example of why mankind should stop ‘interfering’ with nature in his various risky ways. Yes, it would be a major step forward to find clean, reliable and economic replacements for the oil we use today, but for now, we’ve got to keep drilling.” The low Horizons of modern society: The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is bad, but it is not a warning from nature about mankind's hubris – Rob Lyons, SPIKED
Jeff Perren looks over the judicial record of Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. Turns out there’s not much to see, and what there is of it is not very good. Elena Kagan, Free Speech Foe – SHAVING LEVIATHAN
The death of young James Webster of alcohol poisoning is a tragedy. But a reality check is required for the wowsers: There is no law on earth that you could pass that would have saved his young life. Can't Legislate Against (Teenage) Stupidity – CACTUS KATE
Speaking of wowsers, we know that with an intellectual black hole in the Beehive he's incredibly influential, but when exactly did Geoffrey Palmer become "the fourth branch of government”? Geoffrey Palmer: the fourth branch of government – MEDIA LAW JOURNAL
Another reality check: John Key’s War on (Flu) Drugs is going the same way as every other War on Drugs and every other Prohibition has gone: “Obtaining methamphetamine may be getting easier despite a Government crack down on the drug, a report says.” Futility - NO RIGHT TURN Futility - OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR
Speaking of the failing War on Drugs, Radley Balko updates the story on the video featured around the place last week: “It's heartening that nearly a million people have now seen the Columbia video. But it needs some context. The officers in that video aren't rogue cops. They're no different than other SWAT teams across the country. The raid itself is no different from the tens of thousands of drug raids carried out each year in the U.S….” Balko on the War on Drugs - OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR
That video is just one demonstration that the War on Drugs leads inexorably to a war on basic freedoms. The Key Government’s move to enact a complete ban on the NORML News magazine is another. Freedom of Speech: Up In Smoke – LIBZ
“Why as a society are we determined to stop people hurting themselves? Part of life is learning to take responsibility when your own choices and actions hurt you – having a government act in a paternalistic way to stop this, and make it harder for people to learn about individual responsibility, seems dangerous to me.” Drugs and anti-paternalism – THE VISIBLE HAND IN ECONOMICS
Medical researcher (and regular here at NOT PC) Dr Shaun Holt criticises Chiropractic quacks in the wake of the landmark libel case brought by them against Simon Singh being thrown out. Listen here: Radio Live interview on chiropractors - AUDIO
Richard Dawkins explaining how science would work if it was like religion:
The head of Australia’s biggest mining company Rio Tinto is urging a shareholders revolt at K.Rudd’s iniquitous resource profits tax—and points out something that Rudd and Treasurer Swan don’t seem to grasp: “He dismissed Kevin Rudd's assertion that the nation would have raked in an extra $35 billion in tax in the past decade if the resource super-profits tax had been put in place… [because] $38bn invested in Australia by Rio since 2000 would not have been spent if the RSPT had been in place.” Rio Tinto boss urges shareholder revolt – THE AUSTRALIAN
Fact is, “the federal Treasurer does not understand the fundamentals of capital management that drive large-scale commercial investment.” Swan doesn't appreciate the impact of tax – THE AUSTRALIAN
More evidence on that score: “Treasury believes that if miners do make good on their threats to shut projects or expand overseas rather than in Australia, it would help address the problems of managing a two-speed economy. In particular, Treasury believes a slowdown in the resources sector would reduce the need for the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates.” Or, in other words, shoot the more productive and you’ll somehow “fix” the economy. Mining delays 'not all bad': Treasury – THE AUSTRALIAN
“As if … the ‘Pink Batts fiasco and the school’s building scandal’ [weren’t enough], we now have the Resource Industry Super Tax Slug. “It would appear that our Prime Minister has declared war on anyone who saves and invests in Australia, including every Australian who has a superannuation policy. “Wise old Thomas Jefferson summed it up this way: “’I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labour of the industrious.’ “For me, personally, about to ‘man a resource promotion booth’ in Washington D.C. and Chicago, my job is made a little more difficult but, as usual, always looking for the positive angle, I have a sign for display on the booth which announces:- “’THE GOOD NEWS FROM AUSTRALIA! Australia’s natural resources have a longer shelf life than our Federal Government.’ “What do you think?” Canberra Needs History as a Compulsory Subject – PERTH-BASED MINING ENTREPRENEUR RON MANNERS
What was Obama’s advice to Europeans trying to rescue Greece? Essentially it was "don’t face reality" but "carry on with the charade.” “Carry on spending more than you produce. All you have to do is get people to think everything is ok.” Doug Reich explains the ideas behind this patent nonsense, and the consequences of faking reality rather than facing it. Obama Regifts His Consciousness to Europe – RATIONAL CAPITALIST
German chancellor Angela Merkel seems to have this faking reality thing down pat. ““It is a fight against the markets and I am determined to win this fight” – Angela Merkel. Guess she’s never heard of King Canute, huh. The Euro Titanic – SOVEREIGN LIFE BLOG
Public debt is not the same as private debt. “When a private person contracts to borrow money, he is entering into an obligation to repay the money – in the full knowledge of the terms of the loan. However, when the state borrows money, it is not the politicians who are taking on responsibility for paying back loans, but the taxpayers… “The essential point is this: the hapless taxpayer finds himself liable for a debt he did not sign up to, did not authorise. So the moral solution to the sovereign debt crisis is to simply repudiate it – refuse to pay it back.” Repudiate Sovereign Debt – SOVEREIGN LIFE BLOG
Turns out that economic enlightenment has nothing to do with a university economic education. (No surprise there, some of the dumbest economists are the most mis-educated.) “Based on a Zogby International online survey of 4,835 American adults, Columbia University psychologist Zeljka Buturovic and George Mason University economist Dan Kleinfind that economic enlightenment is not correlated to going to college. They also find that it is the highest among those self-identifying ‘conservative’ and ‘libertarian,’ and descends through ‘moderate,’ ‘liberal,’ and ‘progressive.’” You Don't Need a Ph.D. in Economics to Think Like an Economist - VERONIQUE DE RUGY[hat tip Jeff Perren]
What’s missing most in mainstream economics is any notion of capital structure, or any capital theory that looks anything like real life. This lecture by Peter Lewin fills the gap. Peter Lewin on Austrian Capital Theory - FEE
Speaking of good economists, the historic correspondence between French economist Frederic Bastiat and anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon [he of the “property is theft” epithet]is now translated and online. And it’s good! [Thanks to reader Pierre for the link] The Bastiat-Proudhon Debates
Latest OECD data suggests NZ is “under-taxed.” However, “even a cursory glance at the data presented would tell you that this is income tax only and does not include any consumption taxes. It is therefore completely stupid…” Taxes? What Taxes? - MACDOCTOR
“I am sick of the OECD. I am sick of their collective lording over the world. I am sick of banks and financial institutions and money laundering laws being referred to in comparison to these countries. A bureaucracy of 320 million Euros a year and a staggering 2,500 staff… The hypocrisy of the OECD is the US and Euro are in the crapper, Greece is greasy, it is easier for a terrorist to open a bank account in downtown New York than it is for someone with a clean due diligence record to open a bank account in a non-OECD country… “I am no longer interested in statistics about the OECD. It is a dying Old Boys club that [no-one should] aspire to join and co-operate with.” OECD - Organisation for Economic Catastrophic Disaster? – CACTUS KATE
“What are all those people counting on? If a [Greek] factory goes bankrupt, the equalizers will find another factory to loot. If that other factory starts crumbling, it will get a loan from the bank. If the bank has no money, it will get a loan from the government. If the government has no money, it will get a loan from a foreign government. If no foreign government has any money, all of them will get a loan from the United States. “What they don’t know—and neither does the United States—is that the United States is broke. –Ayn Rand (with only one word altered), speaking as if it were yesterday instead of 1974 [hat tip The New Clarion]
Britain is already past the point of no return. Overwhelmed by government spending on the bankrupt welfare state, rather than cutting spending to close the ballooning budget gap the new government is raising taxes. Britain Is the New France: UK's Problem is Too Much Spending - CATO
“There were many losers in the election, but none more so than the cultural elite who backed Clegg. They’ve been shockingly exposed… “Normally, ‘Lib Dems come third’ would not be a shocking headline. But in the wake of ‘Cleggmania’, when there was a widespread (and wild) discussion of Clegg as a new Obama who would take us into a new dawn and transform British politics forever, the fact that the Lib Dems not only didn’t make any gains, but actually seem to have lost seats, takes on a new dimension. It exposes, not only the well-known fact that the Lib Dems are the perennial third party, but also something more profound: that there is a chasm between the cultural elite and the public today, and the electorate is understandably not enamoured by the argument for a ‘new politics’ that lacks any substance… “The problem, of course, is not the electorate. It is the lack of an alternative. The big idea offered by the Cleggomaniac cultural elite, which would apparently shake the foundations of the establishment and seize the voters, was electoral reform. Not any economic solutions, promise of liberty or galvanising vision for Britain, but constitutional tweaking. Such promises of reform were a crutch for an actual political alternative.” The message of the polls: ‘We don’t agree with Nick’ – Brendan O’Neill, SPIKED
“The story of the [election], but perhaps the least commented on, was the fact that very few people actually voted… the fact is that the past three elections have seen by far the lowest turnouts in modern electoral history. What that means is that the individual political parties each only have the support of a small share of the electorate… The three major parties together only managed to persuade about 57 per cent of the electorate to vote for them - far from a ringing endorsement of the political options open to us.,, “For all the talk in the post-election carve-up about who has a mandate and who does not, the conclusion that commentators seem to be avoiding is that no party has managed to inspire or win the support of even a sizeable minority of the electorate.” The General Election that nobody won – Rob Lyons, SPIKED
“Hold on. Brown can’t just slink out of office without a final challenge to the idea that he was unspun, decisive and principled.” Ten myths about Gordon Brown – Tim Black, SPIKED
Prime Ministerial life is hard on the aging process:
“An under-16 Australian Rules football team has come under fire for entering a sponsorship deal with a local Hooters franchise. Critics say the move could give adolescent boys the wrong message. The Broadbeach Cats team [from] the Gold Coast [presently touring North America] were cheered on by two skimpily-dressed staff from the Mermaid Beach franchise of the American restaurant chain during their home game against local side Labrador. “The message these boys are getting is that ... as a young footballer you have an entitlement to large-breasted women in skimpy outfits bouncing around at your games,” women’s advocate Melinda Tankard Reist said. Restaurant owner Morney Schledusch called the criticism ridiculous.” Good call. (Women aren’t decoration, you say? Surely that depends on the women.) Team berated for Hooters sponsorship deal – DALLAS MORNING NEWS [hat tip NZ Week]
“Around every new social development there arise the shamans. Those who seek to shroud the obvious in mystery to create the illusion that only they can interpret the ‘unknowable.’ And thereby make a buck. “For example, look at the hype over ‘social media.’ … The cyber charlatans smell their chance to cloak in complex jargon and gobbledegook what is a rather pedestrian development in the age old behaviour of human conversation and gossip, so as to give themselves an edge and a marketing opportunity. So arises the new priesthood of the ‘social media expert.’” -- who are charging $700 a plate for a day of bullshit and jellybeans at Sky City on the mysteries of social media. Bill Ralston takes aim: Social Media – Shamans And Shysters - BILL RALSTON
Been missing Lindsay Perigo on your radio? Then don’t miss him next week at Radio Live when he takes over from Willy & JT in the early afternoon show. Details here, including how to listen in online: Lindsay Perigo's Radio Live Stint! – SOLO
…and read about the world’s newest biggest city. China’s Pearl River window-on-the-world is quite some place. Shanghai: The Rise of the Global City – NEW GEOGRAPHY [hat tip Owen McShane]
And finally, since Blackadder’s hilarious ‘Mission Gainsborough’ was mentioned in despatches here the other day, here’s your chance to see the clip again:
Imagine, if you will, that a savage murderer has been moving up the country, and he's heading your way. He seeks refuge in your large, rambling property (which you share with extended family). Instead of either handing him in or doing him in, you choose instead to join him in his savagery and plunder, heading out on expeditions of rapine and looting before coming home to hunker down in the least accessible parts of your refuge to fend off John Law, who naturally wants to put a stop to the lawlessness and brutality.
The law decides the safest option is to starve out you and your partner in crime, a strategy that meets with success.
Years later, the whole experience is reported thus by Herald reporter Yvonne Tahana:
In the 1860s, much of the tribe's land was confiscated and given to settlers. This was after British soldiers had burned crops, leaving people to starve.
Such is the way "the long history of strife behind Tuhoe claims" is reported in yesterday's Herald. The report does not deliver quite enough of that long history. It utterly ignores the primary reason that land was confiscated and people were starved, the reason fro which was that those people had chosen to harbour the murderer, Te Kooti, and to join him in his campaign of human destruction (I gave some of the history here the other day).
Reports like this is are historical context-dropping in the pursuit of injustice. To ignore the context for the burning of crops and the scorched earth policy is either mendacious, if intentional, or ignorant, if accidental. Either way, it's inexcusable, particularly when such context-dropping is used to justify scores of millions of taxpayers dollars heading towards the wallets of the descendants of those who helped harbour the thug Te Kooti all those years ago.
It seems the Herald simply doesn't do history -- but then neither does the Government, or the Waitangi Tribunal. A reporter might be excused for not knowing (or reporting) history accurately. A government and a government agency may not be, particularly when the government is represented by a person, Michael Cullen, whose doctorate is supposed to be in history.
Yesterday's 'historic' agreement with Tuhoe was a farce -- presaging a Waitangi deal with a tribe who never signed the Waitangi treaty, for an injustice that was anything but. A farce that is so richly symbolised in the historian, Cullen, who wants taxpayers to ignore history, rubbing noses with the thug Tame Iti, who wants tino rangatiratanga -- to be paid for out of taxpayers' pockets!
The only injustice perpetrated here is that being dealt to the taxpayers of New Zealand -- who once again will be forced to pay large amounts of money to tribalists for things we didn't do -- and to the tamariki of Tuhoe, who are being taught once again that tribalism and a focus on the imaginary grievances of the past will have a bigger payoff for them than will addressing and meeting the real challenges of the future and taking up the genuine opportunities of the present.
I must confess that when living in London I used to enjoy winding up advocates of Scottish and Welsh Independence by pointing out that Scotland and Wales were both nett parasites -- that neither nation produced enough to be truly independent, both getting far more from the British taxpayer in welfare payments and subsidies than was either produced or extracted from them in the first place. The point was naturally never too popular.
An independent nation is usually self funding - where is the funding for the Tuhoe nation to come from? Secession would of course mean an immediate end to all welfare payments, funds for schools, subsidies for doctors visits and the free hospital care that we all take for granted...
All of the trappings of Western society - even such mundane items as roofing iron, nails and paint - cost money. There is the possibility of trade or barter, but the market for root crops and Maori handicrafts is likely to be fairly limited.Even if successful trade relationships are established - which is inevitably a long process - it will take a lot of flax ketes to buy even one new set of tyres.
As Garrett says, be careful what you wish for. At the idea of an independent Tuhoe my mind went back to a delicious satire of Lindsay Perigo's a few years back: the declaration of two independent nations in New Zealand, the People's Republic of Aotearoa, which would occupy the North Island and contain the bludgers, the whingers and the products of university Sociology departments and Maoist "consciousness raising" camps, and the Republic of New Freeland which would occupy the South Island and contain free people willing to take responsibility for their own lives. The residents of the latter would no longer be encumbered by funding the welfare cheques of the former, who would be required to make their own way, if they can.
[In the People's Republic of Aotearoa] everyone will be paid the same, & taxed at 50%. Imports will attract a standard 50% tariff, immigration will be confined to people unable to support themselves, & foreign investment will be prohibited. EVERYTHING in the PRA will be either illegal or compulsory. Coffee, tea, red meat, tobacco & alcohol will be added to the list of prohibited substances. All forms of private education will be banned; the guvamint will require all children to be "educated" by it from the age of three. All citizens will be required to learn Maori; after two years the speaking of English will be a punishable offence. All forms of private health care will be banned, & the People's Republic of Aotearoa will become one giant mental asylum rather similar to the present New Zealand, only more so. No one will be permitted to leave.
Meanwhile:
In New Freeland, the guiding principle shall be, each person is the owner of his or her life & may live it as he or she chooses, & will be required to respect the self-ownership of others. Nothing will be illegal except acts that violate the self-ownership of others. There will be no tax, no welfare state, no tariffs, no subsidies, no restrictions on the movement of people in & out of the country, no government-mandated national currency, no government interference in the economy or anything else unless there's an issue of individual rights involved. People will be free to earn - and keep - whatever anyone is prepared to pay them.
Independence? Real political independence only emerges from genuine individual independence.
“The heartbreakingly simple front page of today'sIrish Examiner” ~ Super Rugby
“If this tax is really about levelling the playing field for local businesses, and not just another revenue grab, then National should have no problems offsetting the cost of this tax through tax cuts elsewhere.” ~ David Seymour GST to go on digital goods – STUFF
“While ‘dirty politics’ Lusk style will never disappear altogether I think his influence is over-rated (by himself), and with increasing sunlight on murky political dealings politicians with a view to future prospects will be more wary of doing business with the politically toxic.” Story on the Lusk for power – YOUR NZ
“The way to boost web traffic is to” not suck? Anatomy of a Corporate Disaster – Inside Weldon and Glucina’s Gossip Site Scout – Duncan Grieve, THE SPINOFF
“Over the last few days, one of the most important books I have read in a long time has become available. It is called One Treaty One Nation, and was written by eight authors from a wide variety of political backgrounds – National, Labour, Greens, NZ First, ACT and Libertarians, indeed from every significant political party in New Zealand with the single exception of the Maori Party … Don Brash on One Treaty, One Nation – FACEBOOK
“Tuhoe chief executive Kirsti Luke said a majority of Tuhoe people in that area were on benefits, and tribal leader Tamati Kruger said the iwi aimed to change that. "We are declaring war on dependency," Mr Kruger said.” Hopefully, with their own money. "...being a beneficiary is a type of servitude" – LINDSAY MITCHELL
“This was not an "attack on all humanity." It was an attack on Western liberal values. And it wasn't an attack on "the universal values we share," since there are in fact few universal values that humanity shares. If humanity shared universal values, there wouldn't be wars, or hundreds of millions of subjugated women, or theocratic and secular tyrannies.” The Left and the Attack on Paris – Dennis Prager, TOWN HALL
“Please pay attention to the recurrent shrieks of Allahu Akbar. This is the cat call from the Middle Ages, or from Middle Earth, that we will have to live with for the rest of our lives. So this fight against Jihadism — this is a generational fight. This is something we are doing for our children, ultimately, and for our children’s children. ”We have a war of ideas that we have to wage, and win, and unfortunately we have to wage it and win it with ourselves first.” The Meaning of the Paris Attacks – Sam Harris, THE BULLY PULPIT
“War is hell, and war is bad. But when someone declares war on you, there are two choices: Roll over and die, or fight back. To advocate fighting back is not to confess a love of war; it’s to embrace a love of life.” Are Americans Willing to Die for Political Correctness? – Michael Hurd, LIVING RESOURCES CENTER
“’Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword’ (Matthew 10:34). One of the great achievements the United States was to separate religion and state or said another way ‘ethical philosophy and political philosophy’.” How to Tame Religious Terrorists – Stephen Hicks, EVERY JOE
Also: “The fight for free speech has been key to the historic struggle that has brought humanity from the caves to something approaching civilisation. It is how we decide what we believe to be the truth. That is why the freedom to question everything has been central to the advance of everything from scientific progress to political democracy. Today we need it more than ever.” Free speech: our best weapon in the war for the west – Mick Hume, SPIKED
Q: What were the circumstances that led to the rise of Islam in C7th? A: War, Plague, Economic Collapse.
Also: “The defectors provide unique insight into life in the Islamic State,” the report says. “But their stories can also be used as a potentially powerful tool in the fight against it. The defectors’ very existence shatters the image of unity and determination that I.S. seeks to convey.” ISIS Defectors Reveal Disillusionment – NY TIMES
Also: “They’re drawn to the movement for reasons that have little to do with belief in extremist Islam… a detailed, or even superficial, knowledge of Islam isn’t necessarily relevant to the ideal of fighting for an Islamic State, as we have seen from the Amazon order of Islam for Dummies by one British fighter bound for ISIS.” What I Discovered From Interviewing Imprisoned ISIS Fighters – Lydia Wilson. THE NATION
“ISIS will hit the same wall as Al Qaeda: Globalized terrorism is no more effective, strategically, than conducting aerial bombings without forces on the ground. Much like Al Qaeda, ISIS has no support among the Muslim people living in Europe. It recruits only at the margins.” The Attacks in Paris Reveal the Strategic Limits of ISIS – Olivier Roy, NY TIMES
“Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man.” ~ Thomas Paine
“In the wake of the horrific atrocities in Paris, France, committed by Islam's heroes, the Jihadists, ‘Moderate Muslims’ are running over the dead bodies of Islam's victims to tell us how peaceful Islam is, and they're attempting to "prove" it by quoting from the Koran.” Countering the Immoderate Lies of "Moderate Muslims" – BOSCH FAWSTIN
“We infidels are only just beginning to understand the flexibility of the Koran. There is a ready-made verse for every occasion – to prove the peacefulness of Islam or, more frequently, to proclaim the wrath and terrible vengeance of Allah to be visited on idolators and kafirs (despised unbelievers).” Slaughter by Koranic Command – Roger Franklin, QUADRANT
“To be critical of Islamism, to be critical of the beliefs and principles of those determined to destroy the ‘camp of kufr’, and to start asserting and defending the values still manifest in Western society, has nothing to do with persecuting Muslims, or rendering Islam unacceptable.” After Paris: the myth of Islamophobia – Tim Black, SPIKED
“Refugees weaken the Islamic State, and they are less likely to commit terrorism than other immigrants or even Americans.” 6 Reasons to Welcome Refugees after Paris – David Bier, FEE
““All of the other suspects in the Paris attacks appear to have been European citizens. In fact, large numbers of citizens from France, Britain and other Western nations have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight, suggesting that the problem is not so much those coming from over there but those who are already here. Nor are these people necessarily the ones with familial links to the Islamic world: There have been a number of European converts to Islam who have travelled to join the Islamic State, and vast numbers of European Muslims have repeatedly condemned the actions of the Islamic State.” The Islamic State wants you to hate refugees – WASHINGTON POST
“The “foreign policy as master key” people will have to explain to me why so many of the perpetrators in French terrorist attacks are not only European-born, but have backgrounds in Algeria or even Morocco, as in the case of the tentatively identified mastermind of the latest assault. These young people may come from families that have historic grievances against the French Republic, but there are no American drones raining death down on to Casablanca. “Blowback” seems like a badly incomplete explanation…” Colby Cosh: After Paris, are we sure the map that needs changing is in the Middle East? – Colby Cosh, NATIONAL POST
“The vetting has served us relatively well so far, too: There have been no vetted refugees in the United States who have gone on to become terrorists.” We Should Welcome Syrian Refugees – Jason, Kuznicki, ORDINARY TIMES
"Perceptions can easily run ahead of reality, however…. And European publics wildly overestimate the proportion of their populations that is Muslim.” Daily Chart: Islam in Europe – ECONOMIST
“But as many [Europeans] are slowly realising … the threat comes not from Muslim immigration: the threat is homegrown. …” Home-grown horror – NOT PC
“Once it has been established that this implicit right [by nation states, instead of the entire EU, to protect their borders] can be used and the basic boundaries inside of Europe are the old European borders, we have entered a new Europe, or rather the old one.” Paris, Sharm el-Sheikh, and the Resurrection of Old Europe – George Friedman/John Mauldin, OUTSIDE THE BOX
“For all the individuals protesting the Syrian refugee crisis, if you are using an Apple product to mount your protest, please stop.” ~ Rick Wilmes Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian refugee – DAILY NEWS BIN
“From here Rockwell continues to elaborate on an argument whose basic assumptions are — I say without equivocation — mind-numbingly stupid… The fact that these two are so desperate for a pretext, any pretext at all, for excluding brown immigrants from Mexico who might “deconstruct their culture,” that they’d grasp at a straw as idiotic and morally bankrupt as this, tells us all we need to know about “paleo-libertarianism.” It isn’t libertarian at all, but is motivated by an overpowering desire for a society controlled by people who look and think exactly like themselves, where nobody is allowed to do anything people like themselves disapprove of.” How Low Can Lew Rockwell Go? – Kevin Carson, C4SS
Another disaster looms in Paris. "The U.N.’s climate chief, Christiana Figueres, says openly that the aim of the [global warming] talks is ‘to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the industrial revolution.’ That outlook will be welcome among attendees like the delegation from Bolivia. That country’s official material submitted for the talks proposes a ‘lasting solution’ for climate change: ‘We must destroy capitalism’." Gambling the World Economy on Climate – WSJ
“When the raw data is used, there is little if any evidence of global warming and some evidence of global cooling.” Global warming ‘fabricated’ by NOAA & NASA – James Delingpole, BREITBART
Meanwhile, in an Indian village … “Life has improved after Greenpeace came, say the villagers. But not because the group brought solar. Rather, they said, they appreciate that the group brought the chief minister, who brought in the grid.” Coal Trumps Solar in India – SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
“100 million of the world’s poorest people will be better off thanks to Australian legislation that was passed last month. ”In contrast to the rhetoric that claims to help people, this legislation had nothing to do with increasing foreign aid or redistributing wealth. It had everything to do with the new $16 billion dollar Queensland coal mine that is set to become ‘the biggest Australia has ever seen’.” The Moral Case for Coal – Celeste, AUSTRALIAN TAXPAYER’S ALLIANCE
William Gladstone’s story is a fascinating one. He almost invented the political implementation of classical liberalism. But he was far from a liberal at first: On every important political issue of the day he challenged his own thinking, and came out against the abuse of power and the protection of privilege. This is heroic, and scarcely normal today. “Today, when a citizen gets elected to make government smaller but ends up moderating his positions while in power, conventional wisdom credits him with having ‘grown in office.’ William Gladstone’s philosophy evolved in precisely the opposite direction — from a hodgepodge of statist notions to principled application of liberty.” When the Power of Love Replaced the Love of Power – Larry Reed, FEE
“Universities seem increasingly to focus on the so-called student experience over the students’ education … University has become the place for teenagers to go when they wish to delay being an adult, rather than being the bridge to independence it was once considered to be.” On not going to university - Jennifer Richards, SPIKED
“Post modernism, deconstructionism and progressive education have caused today's rebellion against the mind.” Campus Insanity? Blame The Philosophers – Robert Tracinski, THE FEDERALIST
“I still utterly fail to understand how 'management' exists as an undergraduate degree. … if there are 22 year olds out there who are fit to manage anything, they're likely doing it already without having bothered with a degree.” Econ testimonials – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR
“The world is on the cusp of a ‘post-antibiotic era,’ scientists have warned after finding bacteria resistant to drugs used when all other treatments have failed… It is likely resistance emerged after colistin [the drug of last resort] was overused in farm animals.” Antibiotic resistance: World on cusp of 'post-antibiotic era' – BBC NEWS
Just so you know: “The research by Dr. Cullen and many other scientists has shown that despite the high levels of contamination in Japan, the levels across the Pacific are so low they are difficult to detect.” Fukushima Findings – DOLLARS AND CROSSES
“Bond is driven by a lust for life — for adventure, for sleek luxury cars, for truffles and foie gras and martinis, and yes, for beautiful women. He is certainly out of place in our age of Neo-Puritanism. He probably eats processed meat, the scoundrel.” Why We Need James Bond – Robert Tracinski, THE FEDERALIST
“James Bond represents the individual spirit that is cultivated by the West against the communist idea of the regnant collective… An individual like Bond who thwarted communist schemes and plots without the Party or the collective was Fleming’s answer to Marx.” Ian Fleming’s Coldest Warrior: The Anticommunist Origins of James Bond – VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM
“P. J. O’Rourke introduces you to the wonderful world of a profession that literally anyone can do.” P.J.’s Guide to Talking Like A Pundit – DAILY BEAST
Peter Singer: The end point of utilitarianism. Fun with Singer – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR
“Why is the seemingly straightforward concept of objective value so difficult for many people—especially those with a background in economics—to understand? The answer is that many economists confuse agent-relative value—value in relation to some valuer—with morally subjective value... they assume that there is no objective standard for determining moral value; they assume that value is only a matter of personal opinion.” Economists’ “Subjective Value” and Ayn Rand’s Objective Value Reconciled – Ari Armstrong, OBJECTIVE STANDARD
“We talk a lot in these pages about what to do with one’s money, but Iquestion whether most subscribers (forget about the public at large) have an adequate grasp of the basics.” Rethinking Money As The Greater Depression Deepens– Doug Casey, ZERO HEDGE
“It's a paradox. Music has this incredible power to evoke, but we don't know what it evokes. You can't talk about it as being 'very emotional' or 'very passionate' because that's bullshit. So I only ever talk about it in its own terms…” ~ Richard Gill, music educator
“There are two overs to go and we need ten to win. I have just come in and am on strike. Malcolm Marshall is brought on for the penultimate over. ‘Finish this off, Macco!’ they call from behind the wicket. ‘Two balls will do it!’ He probably can’t hear as he’s at least 70 yards away at the end of his curving run.” The strange things real fast bowlers make you do – Simon Hughes, THE ANALYST Wasim Akram: the fastest bowler I never saw – Simon Hughes, THE ANALYST
Answers many questions: "In the cells of fruit flies, Chinese scientists say that they have found a biological compass needle: a rod-shaped complex of proteins that can align with Earth’s weak magnetic field." Long-sought biological compass discovered – NATURE
So what hope for an architect who writes?
Balm for a bad week. [Trans: ‘Wach auf” = “Wake Up!”]
How does a tribe 
The contemporary 'injustice' for which the Waitangi Tribunal's taxpayer salve is sought is the well-publicised anti-terrorism raids of last year, the result of Tuhoe leaders knowingly permitting Tame Iti to train young thugs and would-be terrorists on their own patch. Once again, the supposed 'injustice,' which in this case involved such heinous actions as searching an empty bus, was brought on by another poor decision to harbour an idiot.
