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Broadcasting Standards Authority and Sean Plunket

The Daily Blog
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Statement from Sean Plunket

In the interests of the smooth running of the Broadcasting Standards Authority I have chosen to resign my position as a member of the BSA Board. I wish the Board well in its important work in ensuring that the broadcast media in this country adhere to practices which do not harm society in general or individuals in particular.

Statement from Peter Radich, Chair – BSA

Sean Plunket is an experienced journalist and broadcaster whose contributions are part of the recent fabric of broadcasting. We respect Sean’s decision to resign from his position on the Board in the best interests of the Authority.

We wish him well for the future.

Campaign Involving Kiwis Wins Nobel Peace Prize – New Zealand Peace Foundation

The Daily Blog
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The Peace Foundation worked to realise the New Zealand Nuclear Free zone in 1987, and has since worked with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) to inspire others to realise a nuclear-free world.

Through Laurie Ross we promoted the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in Auckland in public peace education events, at Auckland University NZIIA in 2013, and in 2015 featuring the ICAN Australasian Director Tim Wright. The Peace Foundation has pursued its work effectively in partnership with the ICAN initiative to produce the UN Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty.’

The Peace Foundation is therefore delighted with this prize to International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. We acknowledge and congratulate Peace Movement Aotearoa as the the ICAN Convener in New Zealand, and we congratulate the full ICAN network on this achievement. It is an award for
dialogue, diplomacy and peoples working together, a collaboration between civil
society and governments to make nuclear weapons history.

“ICAN is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons”, stated the Nobel Committee.

Beatrice Fihn, the Executive Director of ICAN said, “This prize is a tribute to the tireless efforts of many millions of campaigners and concerned citizens worldwide who, ever since the dawn of the atomic age, have loudly protested against nuclear weapons, insisting that they can serve no legitimate purpose and must be forever banished from the face of our earth. It is a tribute also to the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – the hibakusha – and victims of nuclear test explosions around the world, whose searing testimonies and unstinting advocacy were instrumental in securing this landmark agreement.”

Just recently, we organised the Nuclear Free New Zealand 30th anniversary event in Auckland
Domain on 11 June 2017 with a giant human peace symbol in support of ICAN and the global movement to ‘Ban the Bomb’ in the Treaty negotiations.’

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, one of 7000 ‘Mayors for Peace’ around the world calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons, speaking at the June 11 event said it was “a time to reflect on the horror of war and to learn lessons from the past. New Zealand is proudly nuclear-free and we must continue to strive for a peaceful world free of nuclear arms.” Four New Zealanders from The Peace Foundation and Disarmament Security Centre travelled to the United Nations to participate in the Nuclear Ban Treaty and campaign with ICAN.

The Treaty was adopted by 122 countries at the United Nations in New York in July 2017 and opened for signature in September 2017. New Zealand as a peacemaker nation, was amongst the first to sign the new Treaty, and at the signing ceremony at the United Nations. Already 53 countries have signed it. ICAN was a driving force behind this treaty.

At a time when global tensions are high and two nuclear powers are sabre-rattling, alternative approaches such as the Nuclear Ban Treaty and global collaboration across borders are needed. The Peace Foundation will continue to collaborate with ICAN to put pressure on more countries to sign and ratify the Treaty, to have the Treaty enter into force as soon as possible across the globe.

Gynaecologists to Train on Live Sheep – NZAVS

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The New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society (NZAVS) are asking the organisers of an upcoming surgical workshop to reconsider using anaesthetised sheep.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) will be in Auckland in late October for their Annual Scientific Meeting – which includes a workshop for the development of gynaecological surgical skills. Anaesthetised ewes will be used to demonstrate the surgeries, but it is intended that they will be replicated on human patients.

“NZAVS has contacted RANZCOG to ask that their organisation reconsider the use of sheep in this workshop. We have outlined the many, currently available, human-based surgical training models that the workshop could employ instead,” said Cressida Wilson, Campaign Manager for NZAVS.

The workshop is intended to train gynaecologists in minimally-invasive surgical techniques.

NZAVS Executive Director Tara Jackson stated: “It’s not only in the best interests of animals for organisations such as RANZCOG to adopt human-based teaching methods; it will also greatly benefit human patients.

“It is unfortunate that despite the existence of these methods RANZCOG continues to utilise outdated training techniques.”

NZAVS is urging RANZCOG to adopt human-relevant teaching methods for this workshop, and for similar workshops in the future.

Members of the public can join NZAVS in requesting that RANZCOG halt gynaecological training on live sheep here: nzavs.org.nz/sheep-teaching

Political Caption Competition

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Donald Trump spray tanned at White House

The Daily Blog Open Mic – Tuesday 17th October 2017

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Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.

Moderation rules are more lenient for this section, but try and play nicely.

EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist language, homophobic language, racist language, anti-muslim hate, transphobic language, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.  

The Maker Of “Men” – Masculinity and its Origins

Chris Trotter
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WHO MAKES “MEN”? With the behaviour of movie magnate, Harvey Weinstein, dominating the headlines, the nature and origins of masculinity have become a hot topic. At issue is whether all expressions of masculinity are to a greater-or-lesser extent “toxic” – or only some? And, whether the ultimate liberation of womankind is contingent upon the unequivocal elimination of the culturally constructed beings we call “men”?

In many ways the battle for control over the construction and meaning of gender is the greatest revolutionary struggle of them all. Indeed, it is possible to argue that until this critical issue has been resolved, all of those historical upheavals to which the term “revolution” has been applied have been mischaracterised.

The key question to ask in relation to these historic transitions is whether or not, after the power relationship between master and slave, lord and serf, capitalist and proletarian shifted, the relationship between men and women; between the masculine realm and the feminine realm; was similarly changed? Or, was it still very much a matter of, in Leonard Cohen’s words, “that homicidal bitchin’ that goes down in every kitchen to determine who will serve and who will eat.”? After the “revolution”, did masculinity (like “whiteness”) continue to confer a huge societal advantage upon all who fell within its definitional boundaries – regardless of their personal beliefs and/or inclinations?

But perhaps “revolution” is the wrong word to describe the longed-for dethronement of masculinity? Perhaps the near universal institution of patriarchy (rule by the fathers) is actually the product of the first great social revolution in human history. Perhaps what feminist women are seeking to achieve isn’t a revolution – but a restoration?

And here we must step out of the hard-copy world of recorded history and enter into the much less solid realm of pre-history and mythology. Because it is here, in the indistinct depths of time, that the first and most profound transition in human affairs; the overthrow of the servants of the Earth Mother, by the worshippers of the Sky Father; took place. At the heart of this masculinist revolt lay a deep-seated fear and resentment of all things female – and a burning desire to master them.

Rule by the mothers – Matriarchy – drew its justification from the self-evident need for all living things to submit to the implacable statutes of Mother Earth. Hers was the endless cycle of birth, death and re-birth from which no living creature escaped. And the vessels within which all living things are nurtured, and out of which all new life emerges into the world, are female. Such was the deep magic of generation and fruition which flowed from the timeless creator of all things: The Goddess.

But the sons of the Goddess were lesser beings than their sisters. Helpmeets and protectors, certainly; seed carriers also; but from the deep magic of the mothers they were perforce excluded. Men were the takers of life: the killers of beasts and other men – their brothers. This, too, was a dark and powerful magic, but dangerous and destructive of the settled order. It was a force which the Mothers were careful to keep in check.

It is easy to guess where this story is going.

Men looked skyward, away from the Earth. They observed the gathering darkness in the heavens and heard the deep rumble of the sky’s anger. They witnessed the brilliant spears of light that stabbed the Earth, their mother. In awe they watched her burn, powerless beneath the thrusts of a deity who owed nothing to the slow cycles of growth and decay. Here was a magic to surpass the impenetrable secrets of femininity. Here, in light and fire, they found the power of beginnings: the shock and disruption of all that was new. Not the circles of the Earth Mother, but the straight lines of the Sky Father – the Maker of “Men”.

Masculinity is the world’s disease, and civilisation is its symptom. Patriarchy is the product of the first, and the only true, revolution in human history – and endures as its most malignant legacy.

How Winston could use MMP for NZ First and put New Zealand second

Martyn Bradbury
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It could be a Class 7 shit storm

Winston is a cunning old fox who may yet steal the entire hen house of Parliament by using MMP in a manner that makes Winston King, not King maker.

There was a lot of behind the scenes happiness that Labour and NZ First were making great head way in terms of policy agreements, but the fact that the actual model of how the Government would function hasn’t yet been discussed should have Jacinda blinking rather than winking.

The actual format of the Government should have been discussed up front by the negotiating teams, rather than have everyone promise the things they could work on together.

That’s just a policy blueprint for Winston to use now.

To date the main belief is that Winston would join either Labour or National but the concern by holding back the structure of how the Government would actually operate has some suspicious that Winston intends to sit on the cross benches and rather than provide leadership within a Cabinet, he’ll actually undermine the Cabinet by demanding a vote by vote veto power over all legislation.

This gives Winston all the power and none of the Cabinet Collective responsibility. With a global economic ‘correction’ looming, Chinese infiltration into the National Party, a property market ready to pop, corrosive social services and Donald Trump driving the planet into some type of confrontation with North Korea and Iran, why sit within the Executive when you can demand veto power over every piece of legislation with none of the risk of actually being responsible for the implementation of the policy?

So National or Labour-Green will form the Government, get a supply and confidence abstention agreement and have to beg Winston every time they want to pass legislation.

Sure, Winston won’t get the perks of Cabinet, but he will have all the power with none of the responsibility if shit hits the fan. It also keeps his incredibly ambitious MPs weakened and under resourced in case they start getting ideas above their station as happened to Winston when he was in a Government with National.

If Winston is going down this path, my guess is that he won’t announce until after the markets close on Friday so that he has the weekend for him and Bill/Jacinda to calm the markets who will freak out.

It’s avoiding the market freak out of how he intends to manipulate MMP to maximise his power that will ultimately decide who Winston will go with and that leans towards National.

 

Why Trump’s misnaming of the Persian Gulf has angered Iranians

Donna Miles
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It was not the decision to decertify the Iran’s nuclear deal that has left most ordinary Iranians incensed but the US President’s misnaming of the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf.

Many Iranians have taken to the social media to express their rage and disappointment at the President’s failure to refer to the Persian Gulf by its proper name.

Some, including the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, blamed the President’s poor understanding of history and geography while others thought it as a deliberate attempt to taunt Iran and please her nemesis in the region: the Saudis.

Historically and internationally, the body of water which is mostly bordered by Iran in the north and by the Saudi Arabia in the south, has been referred to as the Persian Gulf- but with the emergence of Arab nationalism since the 60s, there has been an attempt, on behalf of Arab nations bordering the Persian Gulf, to refer to it as the Arabian Gulf.   

With the renaming of Persia to Iran in 1935, by former Shah of Iran’s father Reza Shah, the Persian Gulf remains the only internationally recognized geographical location of significance that bears the name Persia.

The insistence on the name Persian Gulf harks back to Iranians’ yearning for their country’s glorious past as the name has a historic link to the Persian Empire, a period in history which remains as an immense source of confidence and pride to most Iranians.

This is why, in 1971, the former Shah of Iran decided to hold a grand celebration to mark the 2500th anniversary of Persian Empire and to showcase Iran’s old civilization and history to the world.

Ironically, the decadent nature of the festivities contributed to the downfall of the Shah and the monarchial system in Iran.

The name Persia also has an important association to Iran’s pre-Islamic history when the native religion of Persians was Zoroastrianism, not Islam.

The decline of Zoroastrianism in Iran came after the 7th Century Arab Conquest of Persia and coincided with significant decline in political, economic, social and military power of the country.

Many Iranians believe the 1979 triumph of the Islamic Republic of Iran has produced the same levels of political, social and economic decline as the Muslim conquest of Persia did back in the 7th Century.

For this reason, there is almost an anti-Islamic and anti-regime connotation to the word Persia that many Iranians would like to uphold as a reminder of their glorious pre-Islamic past and a beacon of hope for the future.  

If President Trump was more interested in history and less concerned in bending backwards for deep-pocketed Saudis, maybe he would have stuck with the correct name and called it the Persian Gulf- but that clearly would be asking too much from a delusional megalomaniac.

Controversial I know, but Sean Plunket should NOT have resigned from the BSA (sit down lil bitch be humble – a guide for white guys)

Martyn Bradbury
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I feel like I haven’t written anything for ages, I’ve been so busy talking to people behind the scenes about the negotiations for the next Government that I almost forgot to read the news, so my apologies for coming so late to this exceptional supernova of fuckwittery.

BTW, as of Saturday night, Labour will probably be the next Government. Thought you might all like to know that. If he doesn’t go with Labour and the Greens there will be hell to pay.

Okay, let’s get the obvious points out of the way.

1: Sean Plunket is a human being, and as such has the same rights to dignity and respect that your average house plant should enjoy and of course no one should threaten Sean. That’s just mean.

2: Yes, being on the bottom of a social media pile on is terrifying and scary and not a particularly nice place to be because public humiliation and shaming is some of the worst mental health damage one can endure.

Have we acknowledged those fairly weak attempts at a response to the tsunami of social media rage that responded to Sean’s bewilderingly offensive tweet?

Great. Let’s move on.

Sean Plunket should not have resigned from the Broadcasting Standards Authority for tweeting this…

…because the fucking BSA should have shown some fucking spine and sacked his arse.

That’s right, Sean should not have been allowed the dignity of resignation, the BSA should have risen itself to a place of genuine leadership and removed him from the board because this is the second most offensive thing Sean Plunket has ever said.

The most offensive thing he has ever said was his ludicrous justification that the entire thing was a ‘social experiment’.

WTF?

What fucking society do you need to live in for this to be a social experiment?

Social experiment for who?

For what?

Is he doing a Doctorate on how to be a fucking arsehole?

I’m going to try and use this excuse if I ever get caught smuggling a tonne of cocaine across the border, ‘but your honour, it’s a social experiment bro’.

Look it’s hard being a white male these days. I’m currently undergoing a spiritual journey of reflection of my own life and actions. To date that spiritual journey of self reflection has required daily walks up Mt Eden, intense counselling and listening to the immortal words of Kendrick Lamar, “Sit down (lil bitch) be humble”.

Social media has allowed the voices of those without power to speak truth beyond the media gatekeepers directly to the powerful and while those with the hegemonic cultural structure of power behind them might find this uncomfortable, that’s the point.

That’s not to say us white men don’t have a role to play and don’t have a voice in the political and cultural issues of the day. When white men speak, other white men listen. Our role is to have these dialogues amongst ourselves, to help each other grow, reflect and heal from the toxic masculinity that robs us of humanity and dignity and actively make the planet a better place to live on.

Asking if anyone feels sorry for a serial rapist isn’t really helping now is it Sean?

We all must do and be better.

Urewera 10 years on – any lessons to remember?

John Minto
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On the 10th anniversary of the Urewera raids we should recount the lessons – and we should remember.

Breathless police and media commentary about a cocktail of napalm bombs, terrorist cells, guns, ammunition, Maori extremists, guerrilla warfare, assassination threats against politicians, greeted the public on the 15th October 2007. You name it – the police claimed it and the media hyped it.

From the 17 arrests and the dozens searched and detained – illegally as it turned out – just four people were charged with illegal possession of firearms – two were jailed and two given home detention.

The progressive left was quick to hit back against the hysterical police narrative and bring some semblance of sanity and common sense to the public debate. This was highly successful and within 24 hours some elements of the media and much of the public were expressing scepticism concerning the police claims.

We worked with Tuhoe activists to organise marches and public demonstrations highlighting the appalling police behaviour and calling for a reigning in of the surveillance state.

Subsequent developments showed we were right – the police had overreacted and dramatically overreached. They should have taken concerns about military style camps in the Urewera seriously and sent in a Maori liaison officer to find out what was happening and why.

Instead, the police deliberately side-lined their community officers in favour of a dramatic $8 million surveillance operation which they hoped would bring public justification for the massive increase in police (and SIS) powers and resources in the wake of the US September 11 attacks. New Zealand had become a surveillance state and these raids would show that while we didn’t have Islamic extremists, we had our own home-grown terrorists.

A lot of that initial response from the left was instinctive. We knew most of the people the police were claiming as terrorists and knew this was at least a gross over-reaction to whatever had been going on.

The most important lesson from the Urewera raids is to always be sceptical of state agencies who often have their own non-public-interest justifications for what they do.

On the other side I don’t think it’s too cynical to say the main lesson the police will have learnt is NOT that they got it wrong and couldn’t tell the difference between a bullshit conversation in a car and a credible terrorist threat but that it was a failure of PR to prepare carefully enough.

Tuhoe have their own lessons which they have been speaking about in the past few days.

It’s worth remembering too the long list of legislation passed by successive Labour and National governments to extend the surveillance state on the pretext of keeping us safe. Instead it has turned this country into a surveillance state where civil liberties and the right to privacy take second place to the powers of Big Brother to intrude into our lives.

 

Political Caption Competition

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When I give the sign, begin the revolution

The Daily Blog Open Mic – Monday 16th October 2017

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Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.

Moderation rules are more lenient for this section, but try and play nicely.

EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist language, homophobic language, racist language, anti-muslim hate, transphobic language, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.  

The Daily Blog Open Mic – Sunday 15th October 2017

The Daily Blog
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Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.

Moderation rules are more lenient for this section, but try and play nicely.

EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist language, homophobic language, racist language, anti-muslim hate, transphobic language, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.  

The Daily Blog Open Mic – Saturday 14th October 2017

The Daily Blog
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Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.

Moderation rules are more lenient for this section, but try and play nicely.

EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist language, homophobic language, racist language, anti-muslim hate, transphobic language, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.  

NZ companies complicit in culture of violence, intolerance and oppression

Christine Rose
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War is great for business. About $1.68 trillion worth of business globally as of 2015. Defence market reports say global tension and conflict will drive ongoing defence spending, “leading to global market opportunities for exporters”. Even here in NZ, our comparatively small defence budget is increasing, and NZ based military technology manufacturers are poised to capitalise on market opportunities generated by instability, superpower aggression and conflict around the world.

Already the NZ defence industry generates about $60million per annum, and employs about 2500 people. The defence force itself has the massive budget of $3,261 million for the 2017/18 year with an almost $100 million funding boost in this year’s budget, and an additional $406million over four years for increased operational expenses, and $576million for capital projects. That’s a lot of money in both public and private sector involvement in the potential creation and dissemination of instruments of death.

Business opportunities provided by a thriving arms market are promoted by the NZ Defence Industry Forum which held its annual conference in Wellington this week. The Defence Industry Forum (NZDIA) facilitates discussions between defence suppliers and defence agency buyers, from here and around the world. The NZDIA brief is to “identify niche markets worldwide and optimise foreign exchange returns on assets of its members, …with a focus on gaining and maximising onshore and offshore defence contracts”. According to one of the referees on their website, ‘they’re one of the most effective industry forums in New Zealand”, reflected in the Government’s budget increases perhaps. But beyond the opportunities of expanding domestic military expenditure, New Zealand companies are benefitting from the global death trade. With the military as agents of state sanctioned violence, companies supporting the arms trade here and abroad, are war profiteers, complicit in a culture of violence and oppression.

And it seems that industry is booming. The Defence Industry Association annual conference was attended by around 500 delegates and 150 organisations. The conference is usually sponsored at least in part, by one of the world’s largest (worst?) arms manufacturers, Lockheed Martin. Representatives of other major weapons companies also attend. But smaller domestic companies who manufacture mortar firing devices, combat training systems, missile guidance technology, weapons and ammunition, transport, procurement and logistics systems, cyber security and military electronics are all there. We’ve got ‘arms dealers on our doorstep’. It’s an opportunity for these industries to buy, sell and lobby for ‘more weapons of war’. War in itself helps their trade.

Intolerant conservatives in NZ were appalled at the behaviour of protestors who sought to blockade, interrupt and disrupt the Defence Industry conference. In online comments, protestors were called ‘street thugs’, ‘rent a mob’, ‘the dregs of society’. They should “get a job, get a life, and if they want change, they should get elected”. Ironically Chloe Swarbrick, newly elected Green MP attended the conference blockade, as did the recently awarded Nobel Peace Prize winner Thomas Nash, recognised for his opposition to nuclear weapons. And many of the protestors were working people who considered the issue of NZ’s involvement in the death trade sufficiently morally important that they used annual leave so they could attend.

Among the protestors was ‘Uncle Scam’ dressed in stars and stripes, wearing a ‘wanted for war crimes’ sign, and carrying another asking conference attendees ‘is it ok when it’s not your family?’ with pictures of falling bombs. There were clowns, men, women and children, people carrying flowers, and a celebratory ‘give peace a dance’ event.

Peaceful protestors blockading the route for delegates to the conference, were manhandled, apparently brutalised, and some people were insulted and injured by the police. Protestors say the police used inappropriate force, which the police deny, saying ‘they were extremely disappointed with the behaviour of protestors”, but protestors said if they’d acted the way the police did, they would have been arrested. The police have the long arm and the upper hand of the law.

Protestors questioned why the police were enforcing security at an industry event, which should be paying for its own security, and the cops were acting as ‘lap dogs to big business’. It’s a bizarre paradox; Wars have been fought to ‘preserve democratic freedoms’ which are suppressed by the police because those same freedoms are used to question the trades of war.

Some of the ‘appalling behaviour’ exhibited by protestors included spitting on conference delegates, and one online contributor suggested even ‘rebelling against the police is despicable behaviour’. It’s a sick world where war mongers and military equipment mercenaries are protected by the state, and those who bear witness and raise awareness of militarism, where the purpose is to kill, are condemned. Non-violent direct action is seen through this lens as a greater crime than direct and violent action through organised military means. In this context, even violent action would be appropriate to stop the dogs of war, but society condemns those who stand for peace, not force, as well as those who would use force to stop it.

Once again the power of the dollar trumps moral questions of the trade in murderous weapons. Turning a blind eye to the proliferation of the tools of war, and their production here in New Zealand, is the same as the American blind spot to gun related harm, but on bigger scale. Edmund Burke said, ‘all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’. And Malcolm X said, ‘if you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” This week, righteous and honourable men and women spoke truth to power, and stood against evil that’s institutionalised in the state, and such a cultural norm that the non-violent protestors were condemned more than the purveyors of war.

GUEST BLOG: Lois Griffiths – Make Money Über Alles?

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A friend has alerted me to a story that I missed when it was printed in the business section of the Oct 07 Press.

Just when an Arms Fair was being held in Wellington, promoting the latest in weaponry, the Press ran a story ‘Unease at innovation agreement with Israel’. The story reports on NZ and Israel  Governments’   plans for signing  “ an innovation agreement that would see technology firms from both countries fast-tracked to receive funding from their respective government grants agencies”. 

The “unease” referred to in the Press headlines are two concerns raised by the Taxpayers’ Union: that the Government wants  to select companies to prioritise for political reasons and that the Government wants to sign a deal with “a Middle Eastern country whose military continued to engage in conflict.’ 

All this while NZ is in a period of caretaker Government., with media attention focusing on the negotiations. 

The whole story fills me with ‘unease’. 

Yes , the Israeli military , and police, and politicians continue to “engage in conflict”. 

 The “conflict” is the oppression of the indigenous Palestinian people, men, women and children. 

The destruction of Palestinian houses, water sources, olive trees is an ongoing process.  The occasional  bombing, ‘lawn-mowing’ of Gaza attracts media attention for a while. but away from the media, attacks on   Gazans continue, fishermen being shot, farms sprayed , sewage and drinking water facilities left unrepaired because of the siege. In the West Bank, Israel police and IDF demolish houses, schools, religious centres both  Christian and Muslim and violently attack unarmed protestors. The police and IDF , enjoy immunity as do violent heavily-armed  Israeli settlers. Thousands of Palestinians, including women and some 300 children, languish in Israeli prisons. Hundreds are held under ‘administrative detention ‘, meaning no charges, no lawyers.

As for Israel itself, that is the internationally recognized Israel, Palestinian-Israelis, Israeli citizens , are oppressed as well. Whole villages, that existed before Israel was even a country, are declared ‘unrecognzed’. They are denied water,  electricity, schools, clinics. There is an ongoing process to demolish such villages, and  replace them with Jewish-only villages with all amenities. 

The proposal is for an “innovation agreement”. The Israelis excel in innovation, all right, especially in ‘population control’ technology and in weapon development.  Even Orwell would be amazed , if he were alive today, at the degree to which Palestinians are not only physically oppressed but psychologically as well. We all know the phrase ‘preemptive strikes’, something Eisonhower declared immoral , never justified. Ah, but the Israelis have perfected  ‘preemptive policing’. Israeli intelligence has developed a computer algorithm that analyzes social media posts to identify and then arrest Palestinians suspected of showing the potential  of being unhappy with their situation sometime in the future. 

A case that is attracting international attention is that of Dareen Tatour, woman poet, a Palestinian-Israeli (Israelis hate that term, they prefer Arab-Israeli), a citizen of Israel, arrested for a poem she posted on facebook. Big Brother is watching. 

As for the Wellington Arms Fair, whether Israeli corporations took part or not, I don’t know. But I do know that developing and selling weapons is a major part of Israel’s economy. They are major exporters of drones for example. And the Israelis can boast that all of its weapons have been battle tested, with Palestinians as guinea pigs. One of Israel’s customers is the military of Myamnar. 

Do we really have to accept a rationale that morality is ‘quaint’ when there is money to be made? Business Über Alles?

Palestinian NGOs and other civic groups pleaded 12 years ago for non-violent support from people of conscience around the world, support in the form of Boycott, Divest, Sanction. BDS is being debated in many countries around the world but not here.

I was disappointed that during the entire election period , no question was raised about  what New Zealand’s role in the world should be. Decisions, foreign policy really as well as  business ones,   are being made quietly with nobody noticing. 

 

Lois Griffiths is a human rights activist

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