Waatea News: Why I’m taking my daughter out of school today
I’m taking my 9 year old daughter to the climate protest today, which means she’s wagging a day from school.
New Zealand Politics
-
-
What Happened Here?
Part of the answer, the most important part, we have already seen. In the floral tributes outside the nation’s mosques. In the images of the imam and the rabbi embracing each other. In the Pasifika voices raised in a hymn of heart-breaking poignance. In the Maori and Pakeha faces wet with tears, yet set in grim defiance. In the passionate cry of the massacre survivor: “This is not New Zealand!” In the nearly $5 million already raised to support the victims’ families. The answer already given by the people of New Zealand, united in grief, is unequivocal: When confronted with such reckless hate, the only possible answer is aroha – love.
The wrong answer; the answer the terrorist is always hoping the strategic targets of his rage will give; is to meet recklessness with recklessness; hate with hate.
-
GUEST BLOG: Bryan Bruce – 100% support for gun law reform call by The Prime Minister
All guns need to be registered with the police.
All semi- automatic and automatic weapons should be banned and the sale of devices that can facilitate the self loading of rifles should also be banned. No citizen in our country needs such a weapon.
-
TWITTER WATCH: National Party – sensing the political backlash, quietly remove far right UN conspiracy
…so after National embarked upon a far right conspiracy about the UN we had the co-leader of the Greens punched by a man yelling angry things about the UN and we had this diseased human being scrawl messages about the UN on his guns…
-
How amazing has Jacinda been under this pressure? This is what political leadership looks like
In a lot of the angry debate swirling right now, please let us remember that this diseased human chose Christchurch BECAUSE NZ is a peaceful progressive multi-cultural society, this violence IS NOT a reflection of us, we were targeted because we are good.
-
If we can ban single use plastic bags and fireworks – why the Christ can’t we ban machine guns for civilian use?
If only we could spy on white supremacists with the ease we spied on Nicky Hager and it’s not good enough to say, ‘he wasn’t on a watch list’ when all the watch lists are focused on Māori, Environmentalists, Greenpeace, the Greens, Earthquake victims and the MANA Party!
-
GUEST BLOG: Bryan Bruce – Complacency Delivers Misery
Yesterday we witnessed the best and worst in humanity in one day.
49 people murdered in Christchurch and many injured in an act of hate, while thousands of school students ignored warnings of punishment to protest our lack of progress on climate change.
Both events are connected by the complacency of New Zealand governments over many years to regulate on some serious issues in the greater public good.
-
Christchurch Terror Attack – “God Defend Our Free Land” – For Us, The World Has Gotten A Little Bit Darker
We can but hope that those fundamentally, quintessentially Kiwi characteristics of an inexorable resiliency of spirit and cast-iron commitment to community, mean that at least here – here of all places, in what should otherwise be (but sadly, often isn’t), “the best of all possible worlds” – “the lights” may be dimmed somewhat … but that they do not , *cannot* , go out in perpetuity.
-
Dr Liz Gordon: Guns, meth, murder and white supremacy
I had just completed the blog below when I heard about today’s attack on people in Christchurch, by at least one male self-proclaimed white supremacist. Guns and meth, meth and guns, the message is clear: New Zealand is becoming less safe and more like the USA. I do not yet know what toll has been taken by today’s events. I do know I have already had two comments reported to me approving of this gun crime. I find this almost incomprehensible. I am sure we will hear more.
-
Jacinda goes beyond ‘thoughts & prayers’ and will change gun laws
As we rock on our heels at the magnitude of evil that has been spat upon our Muslim whanau, we will kaleidoscope a spectrum from shock to grief to rageBut the best of us is better than this spite and we must not allow this stain to hollow our wholes.As we lay down with numb souls, rest dear friends. Tomorrow’s grim grey will continue to test us as we struggle for our nations oxygen.