Politics and Perceptions

I find it sometimes amazing the capacity of some people to convince themselves that they couldn't possibly be wrong, as if all things in the universe have a defined black or white position. Often the world is made up of a mixture of all things.

What am I going on about?

Well it is the highly predictable, but still somewhat sad, response to the Dom Post's revelations last Wednesday.

Now part of this is based on how you choose to interact with your media. If you are like me, you take it as a cue rather than the full story. The media can only provide someone's point of view - either the person being interviewed or the journalist reporting the incident.

What we got from the Dominion Post last Wednesday is enough proof that the police were right to act in regards to the actions of certain individuals in the Ureweras. We did not get proof that the accused were terrorists, but that they were clearly involved in some disturbing activities that they have been less than honest about.

It did not prove that the Tuhoe are behind some conspiracy, nor did it prove that these guys were genuinely capable of following up the threats mentioned in the quotes provided.

What it did prove was that there wasn't some conspiracy to shut down activists - but it did suggest that those being investigated were using such communities to make contacts.

Yet now we are hearing from the people who were protesting against the suppressed 'evidence' decrying that the Dom Post has acted appallingly for revealing it. I'm sorry, can you say that again?

Now I do think that the Dom Post has potentially acted in contempt of court - that evidence being revealed, particularly in such an anonymous manner (which is probably how Fairfax will get around the contempt of court charges) will work against the accused getting a fair trial.

But I have no pity for the kind of person who tries to argue such BS as claiming the comments were taken out of context. It is abundantly clear that there was a sizeable history of these kinds of conversations amongst a group of people who were then meeting and partaking in military-style training with illegal weapons.

How much context do you need? I'm curious to know exactly how such comments could be taken in context with the greater picture provided by surveillance - and be called innocent. It's a hard sell. One I don't buy.

These guys were clearly involved in something illegal. They probably weren't terrorists, but they were up to something stupid and they were naive to think that the police wouldn't get involved with the kind of theatrics some of their members were getting up to.

Remember, the investigation began after one of these yahoos made threatening moves towards the Prime Minister - which eventually lead Police to find out about the rest of their activities.

If it was some sort of elaborate set-up to expose flaws in our legal system, then these guys are idiots. New Zealanders, in general, don't appreciate being led on a merry chase. Given that the racial hot buttons have been pressed as well, that will only further work against these guys. They have been exposed as racially motivated and acting against a nation that has been working hard to try to resolve racial issues.

I fail to see how 'kill some pakehas' could lead to anything other than an increase in racist sentiments. It is no different than National Front spouting some bullshit ethnic cleansing drivel about Maori.

Let's get that clear. The evidence presented gives more than enough for police to get warrants. Comparing it to the US invading Iraq is also a false analogy. Iraq was a sovereign nation. As much as the Tuhoe want sovereignty, they are a part of New Zealand's legal system and if there are idiotic anarchists acting illegally in their midst, the police are required to investigate and act.

Why aren't these people getting angry at Tame Iti and friends for being such boneheaded idiots as to reap such a response from the police.

As for not finding any weapons of mass destruction - a cache of illegal semi-automatics, molotov cocktails and an IRA training manual are exactly the kind of things that the warrants were in aid of finding.

Yet having found that they bet on the wrong horse, those people who stepped up too soon to decry foul are now seeming to be working just as hard and vocally to cover their tracks.

This is why I find it is important to wait for evidence. Without it, you are making pure speculation and risk serious backlash if you are wrong.

This saga is far from over. I suspect you will find that some of the 17 accused will be found innocent - from what I read in the paper, it seems to me that not all of them are behind this little posse. But I will not be surprised if there are a couple more twists in this tale.

I do think that Jamie Lockett and Tame Iti need to be taken down a rung or two. They are clearly arrogant men who are too smart for their own good. But terrorists? I'm not so sure. I think the SG took the right course of action...

Which clumsily seagues me into my second topic of the day - Polls.

In the current polls National lost ground between September and November. Labour is now on the way back to preferred party, with Helen Clark pipping John Key at the post by a mere 2-3 percent as preferred Prime Minister.

Currently the Maori Party holds the king-maker role if there were to be an election tomorrow. Current events would suggest that they would lean towards National over Labour, as Labour has been more than a little antagonistic towards them. But also, given the rather shameless politicking they have been doing recently - and which has kind of left them with egg on their faces - it is likely that neither National nor Labour would be willing to negotiate a favourable deal.

What could that mean for government?

Well let's face facts. Labour is more likely to be able to broker a successful deal. Helen Clark has a long and successful history of being able to make deals with parties to create a government. She has managed to keep the Greens on side even while offending them on several occasions. She is likely to be able to get NZ First on side again, and United Future's Peter Dunne will likely recognise that Helen is more likely to win over the Maori Party than John could - thus leaning over to her again. Regardless of what he would like to claim.

Why do I think this? Because National still has failed to understand how MMP works. They still think that government is theirs if they hold a majority. Any allies would soon find National wanting them to fall in line. Labour's policies take their allies in mind, and they know how to broker deals that get them the policies that they really want while also accepting their partner's perspective. I just can't see John Key having the kind of statesmanship to successfully pull this off. Most noticeably, if the Maori Party sign on with him, they will find that once government is sworn in, they will be helpless against a juggernaut party that will only be out to keep things at status quo.

It is still to close to call, but I predict a minority Labour party successfully brokering a complex (and likely confusing to onlookers) government and National will again be left sitting in opposition. John Key is not a true leader - he's not as wishy washy as Don Brash, but he is kind of bland. I predict we will see Bill English returning for the election after next. Bold, I know, but he has now learnt from his experiences and is well placed to oust John Key if National loses the next election.

Helen Clark is wise enough to let all the chest thumping and carry on happen now - she sees the long game and knows that it is better to act when people are holding their voting slips. The public is fickle, and if you get them when they are on your side - all the better. It's a technique that has helped them out in the past, I don't see them playing National's game now.

Laters!

Conan
Currently Reading: What they don't teach you in Film School.
Currently Playing: Ptolus
Mood: Interested in how things are developing

Police State New Zealand? I don't think so...

Who says there is no solidarity in the media? No doubt spurred on by the drama unfolding with TV3, The Dominion Post decided to publish the suppressed evidence regarding the "Terrorist" Raids - to ensure that the public can come to their own decisions.

Now I'm not so sure this was a wise action as it may possibly jeopardise the fairness of the approaching trials of those involved. However, what is done is done. At least by taking this action TV3 and the Dom Post have inadvertently (or maybe deliberately) proven something about this case - that we do not live in a true police state.

Why do I say this? Because in a true police state, the suppression of this information would have been vital - the Police would have stopped the presses, people would have been arrested (and possible tortured) to find out who leaked this information.

What are the NZ police doing? Investigating. There may be legal action taken against TV3 and Fairfax Media - but it will likely amount to a telling off and a serious fine that either company can probably afford to take on the chin in return for great press and sales.

I also agree with the reasoning offered by the Editor of the Dom Post when he says:

The Police have been accused of over-reacting, and of being racist. Supporters
of those accused have argued there is nothing to justify the operation the
police mounted, that notions of domestic terrorism are as insubstantial as the
Urewera mist, and those arrested are the victims of some sort of vendetta. They
argue that those the police arrested are blameless. Their claims have not been
tested in any meaningful way till now

The bold is my own. While I figure that these were a bunch of wannabe yahoos playing at building a militia - it does sound from the evidence revealed that police did act accordingly. Some very disturbing conversations have been revealed, and they happened over a long enough time to need to be taken seriously. This wasn't a bunch of guys playing a game with the police or clowning around on the phone.

These sound like angry guys who were saying things with a degree of conviction. I do feel that they probably would have wimped out when push came to shove - but on the face of the evidence, there is no way of knowing. Police had probable cause, and good reason to act. I've seen armed offenders get called out for [i]less[/i] without any complaint from anyone. It also adds a chilling aspect to the organised protests for me - that certain people hoped to take advantage of the raids to still stir up the same kind of division of people.

I do worry that after the publication of this information, the trial may now turn against the accused simply through public opinion. But, in a way, it needed to come out. Now let's see what happens to those who challenged the suppression orders - that will reveal much more about how in danger our civil liberties are...

Conan

Currently Reading:
Currently Playing: Exalted: Nexus of the Sun
Mood: Concerned, and also relieved that some of this information is out in the open.

Reviewtime: SKATE

In the console gaming world there has really only been one name for skateboarding - Tony Hawk. The endless parade of button-mashing gaming has been the pinnacle of the genre, if not the only existing product.

Now, as Tony Hawk's line of skating games is beginning to groan under the weight of mediocre game play - EA has burst out with a new type of skating game. Gone is the idea of skating gaming as a kind of arcady unrealistic experience. SKATE wants you to genuinely learn to appreciate the sport.

This is primarily done via the Flickit system - where Tony Hawk requires a Mortal Kombat style left, left, circle, circle, square combo to succeed at a trick, SKATE uses skill with the analog sticks.

Your avatar in the game never statistically improves, you - the player - do. This is a game where you freestyle your lines in any way that you can to perform realistic tricks and lines while exploring the vast city of San Vanelona (a fictional city that combines aspects of several famous cities of the world.)

After a very clever movie at that sets up why your character is such a newbie on the scene, you are literally dumped in the Skate Park of the San Van suburbs at the top of the hills, and given a short tutorial to accustom you with the controls. Then you are literally let loose on the city.


This game isn't about winning any goal. It primarily is about enjoying skating for the sake of it. There are challenges to keep things interesting, and the basic idea is that you will strive to get onto the cover of one of two famous skate magazines (or both if you so choose.) Each photo shoot you end up doing unlocks more challenges and come cool hidden locations - but you could happily play the game for ages without ever taking up a challenge.

What impressed me about the challenges is that they are never released before you are ready to take them on. The game is well balanced towards challenging your skills and getting you to learn the system without ever becoming too frustrating.

By no means is the game easy, but it is well balanced to keep things interesting for hours. I literally lost a day to this game, as it is very relaxing and challenging at the same time.

What is also impressive is the ability to take photos and footage of your tricks then load them up to the internet. All the pictures on this post are of my character performing various stunts.

SKATE's system is so fluid and intuitive, you seamlessly move from one trick to another - never having to look at the controller to pull of a trick. The controls aren't perfect - some tricks are too similar in movement, and I had a bitch of a time working on a Nollie 360 Flip, and constantly getting a Nollie Pop Shuvit 180.

But with a game that looks this gorgeous, and with so many challenges, I was always able to skate away and try something else for fun.

I can highly recommend SKATE to anyone who wants to play a game that is entertaining and fun.

Love and Huggles

Conan

Currently Reading:
Currently Playing:
Mood: Loving SKATE!

Protests and Assaults

*sigh* After a week of all manner of opinions being voiced, I have found my personal opinion towards modern day activists hardening. Less and less people who claim to fight for the cause of freedom really seem to understand why they should fight for it, nor what it is that they are actually fighting for.

It, of course, doesn't help when both sides of a debate seem to be heading fast into silly hats territory. Consider today's Labour Conference. A "staggering" crowd of 150 protesters stood outside expressing their rights to freedom of expression. That is a good thing. While I don't agree with these people who are knee-jerk protesting against a mythic police state, they do have the right to protest if they feel a wrong has been committed.

But there are limits to freedoms - and this is something that these protesters don't understand. Furthermore, they seem to miss the irony that most of the people they are protesting against are supporting their calls to repeal certain laws that are on the table.

However, it doesn't help that a Labour Delegate assaulted one of the protesters. That is plain stupid. I don't care how infuriated they are making you, it only serves their purposes to assault them.

Conversely, freedom of expression does not allow you to jump on people's vehicles or spit in the faces of police. Nor does freedom of expression give you the right to push past police lines and verbally assault delegates.

So shame on all those protesters who have failed to learn the lesson that peaceful protest is and always has been a far more effective method of protest. Look at the support and coverage the Buddhist Monks of Myanmar created by simply walking. They live in a true police state - where Junta military open fired on peaceful protestors. These were not people jumping on cars or spitting at military. They were simply staying in a place and sternly refusing to be aggressive.

The police in New Zealand do not, to my knowledge, open fire on protesters. The other stage of peaceful protest is to peacefully go to jail if arrested. You can sit and refuse to move - your freedom of expression allows that. If you genuinely believe in your cause, then you will allow yourself to be arrested to make your point.

Kicking and screaming, threatening and harassing police for doing their jobs will not help. In this country, if you peacefully go with the police you are more likely to learn that some of them support your cause.

That is effective activism.

As Service Workers' Union representative, Jill Ovens, said -

"But I don't support advocating the use of violence because it just turns people against our cause."

There is a lot of truth in that statement. All the pollings show that an overwhelming majority of New Zealanders feel either that the police did not over-react, or that it is still too early to tell. If activists genuinely want support for their view they need to make sure that they have convincing evidence and the sympathy of the local New Zealander.

Because protests only succeed if the average person gains sympathy. The public does not respond well to acts of violence and show-boating. People like Ghandi became so influential because they used reason and peaceful methods. There is power in being calm and understanding.

That is why a large number of New Zealanders are simply writing activist protests off as hippy foolishness or irrational over-reaction.

Images of protesters being dragged off kicking and screaming simply builds sympathy for the police, not the protester.

Most New Zealanders also know that the Urewera 17 are not political prisoners. The fact of the matter is that many of them have been caught red-handed with illegal weaponry. Nobody has successfully disputed that yet. Joe Average New Zealander doesn't care about race or politics or even the terrorism laws. What average NZer is asking is the pertinant question that activists are ignoring - why do they need those weapons? It's not for pig hunting - there are plenty of legal weapons you can use for that. How does training with semi-automatics and military grade weapons exactly count as a legitimate retreat?

These are the questions going to be raised in court. In normal circumstances the police would be pushing for simple illegal weapons charges. What has effected these people is that Jamie Lockett and friends seem to have stupidly said that they are going to declare war on New Zealand. Now that may have been said in jest or as a joke on the police in the event that Lockett figured out his phone had been tapped. (A theory I find hard to believe after seeing his interview prior to his bail being revoked. In that interview he did not mention anything of the sort and was protesting that he had no idea that the police had been so involved, and he all but admitted to having said those comments in the heat of the moment.)

The problem is that because of those kind of threats being made, the police are bound by law to then seek a terrorism conviction. This is not a political issue - it seems to me to be a case of simple out and out stupidity. And maybe it is some overcomplex ruse to expose a fault in the current laws - but if so, that is a naive and utterly idiotic way to go about it.

Successful protest is about fighting corruption and faulty laws with reasoning and open honesty. Not show tricks and denial. And most certainly not through violent aggressive behaviour.

The more I see the activist reaction to this, the more I despair at the utter clumsiness and showboat stupidity of these protests. They are doing activist causes more harm than good. Those people hoping for another springbok flare-up are living in a perverse dream. New Zealand culture has moved away from that. We are more aware of the growing violence in our country - and we want to stop it. Violent actions - both from delegates and protesters alike are making the rest of us want to not have a bar to do with any of them.

I feel that's a shame. Because New Zealanders need to get into politics. They need to be passionate about this country - but they also need to be able to be reasonable about it too. I find most New Zealanders are reasonable people. They aren't all rednecked conservatives, nor are they tree-loving hippies.

We live in a mostly egalitarian society that is struggling to live up to its perceived dream of a beautiful and friendly nation that looks out for everyone in it. Unfortunately, a lot of conservatives and activists are not sharing that dream - being more interested in forwarding agendas for the good of a core interest group while trying to claim it is for the good of the country.

These people who are resorting to violent and aggressive actions are not doing themselves any favours.

Conan

Currently Reading: Sidereals
Currently Playing: Soon... sooon....
Mood: Not impressed.

Reshuffling the hordes, Farms in the Wind and other Politics...

It certainly has been a busy time for those who have been following NZ politics. What with every overlooked party piping up regarding the recent raids and Trevor's little bust up with Tau Henare in the corridors of parliament - it would be enough to keep anyone busy with rumour and speculation. So is it any wonder that Helen Clark's new Cabinet reshuffle has been a cautious and down-played affair.

There are some interesting decisions - Making Minister of Police also Minister of Justice, which is an indicator to the forces that the Government is wanting to clean house regarding procedures and structures.

Mallard's clearly been put in his place, but gets to keep his job - which I think is a wise action. Too many people are baying for blood over a schoolboy scuffle. It's a bit sad, really. As usual the desire to punish has nothing to do with the event and everything to do with self-serving politics. Mallard has clearly been given a warning, and this has been set up for him to fail or succeed. Labour has had a history of giving MPs another chance - but there is the classic sense of "screw up again and you're out."

All in all, Labour is making a clear statement that they are focusing on policy not politics. The choices have been people who have shown ability and skill doing their jobs rather than picking scraps in the chamber. Which is something I have come to expect from Labour's leadership.

In other news there I was interested in the constant struggle for the development of renewable energy. It is interesting that so many people are against the use of fossil fuels to provide electricity, but then will fight any attempt at developing renewable energy sources. New Zealand is in a fairly unique position in that we have plenty of wind and water - two of the greatest sources for renewable energy that don't rely on nuclear power.

Yet, while most NZers want a clean green country, they want it to happen 'elsewhere' in the country. Now I haven't done all the research into the pros and cons of Wind Farms, but I do know for a fact that our power demands are rising, and the current sources are strained. The father of a friend of mine worked in the main research panel into the future of NZ's power, and it was decided about five years ago that unless new sources were found soon, Nuclear Stations in NZ would become an inevitability.

The Government has fought that decision, and experts have come from overseas and suggested all manner of potential solutions. We, as a country, need to face up to the fact that some sacrifices will have to be made. I, personally, don't see windmill turbines as particularly ugly - especially when compared to the smaller but nastier looking nuclear plants.

I may just do some more research into this to see what else I can learn and find out.

Finally, a note on NZ's increasing violence. A recent study found that violence in the classroom was indicative of the drop in values throughout the country. This has been attributed to the collapse of a number of families. I do find this a concern about the number of people who are teaching their children that violence is alright and the suggestion has been made for schools to pick up the slack.

I'm not really sure what can be done. The collapse of values is something that happens at home. It isn't the government or our laws that effect values - it's how we as individuals choose to interact with each other. I have noticed a definite decline in respect and common courtesy amongst New Zealanders. This idea that you must be tough and self-sufficient is a breeding ground for ill-will. There is a distinct lack of understanding how to deal with things.

But I'm still trying to figure out how you would get through to these people...

Conan

Currently Reading: Sidereals
Currently Playing: Nothing at the moment
Mood: Concerned for the future of our nation...