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Act issues pledge-card

The Act Party has issued a pledge card, but boasts that no taxpayers have been harmed in its production or marketing.

Download 20_point_pledge_card_brochure_final.pdf

Putting the Iraq conflict into perspective

This post on Barack Obama's policies is timely, and the killer pull quote appears to be this one:

The number of U.S. soldiers who have been killed in Iraq since 2002 currently stands at 4,092. Yet a slightly smaller number of unborn babies, approximately 3,900, die every day in this country because of abortion. Currently we kill 1.4 million babies a year. Since abortion was legalized we’ve snuffed out more babies than the entire populations of Iraq , Israel and Jordan . That’s more than 40 million people. It’s a holocaust we deny ever happened.

At what point do liberals acknowledge the argument? How can one wring one's hands so much about war, yet see nothing wrong with abortion?

IT. JUST. DOES. NOT. COMPUTE>

Abortion Supervisory Ctte loses major court case

In a major ruling, the High Court has determined that the Abortion Supervisory Committee has failed in its statutory duties overseeing abortion providers.

Justice Miller, in a 58 page judgement released today Download abortionruling.pdf , goes into great detail, but the most important paragraphs are these:

"There is reason to doubt the lawfulness of many abortions authorised by certifying consultants. Indeed, the Committee itself has stated that the law is being used more liberally than Parliament intended.Wall v Livingston means it may not review or scrutinise the decisions of certifying consultants. I find that it may do so, using its power to require consultants to keep records and report on cases they have considered, for the purpose of performing its statutory functions. Those functions include keeping under review all the provisions of the abortion law, as defined, and their operation and effect in practice, reporting to Parliament on the operation of the abortion law, keeping the procedure for authorising abortions under review, ensuring the administration of the abortion law is consistent throughout New Zealand, and appointing and removing consultants. The Committee may form its own opinion about the lawfulness of consultants’ decisions to the extent necessary to perform these functions.

d) The Committee has misinterpreted its functions and powers under the abortion law, reasoning incorrectly that

Duff wins legal test case, police traffic powers in doubt

The Herald has buried the lead, but author Alan Duff has managed to find a loophole allowing virtually all motorists to drive off from traffic stops.

According to Judge McGuire in today's hearing, although police have power to pull a person over for speeding, they have no power to detain you at the side of the road while they do a "QP" ('query person' check on the police computer.

Thus, when Duff drove off while the officer was sitting in her car radioing back his details, she had no power to arrest him for driving off.

Fascinating, and a fairly large loophole methinks.

Investigate gets it right...again

A major cover story in Investigate last year has proven correct after the collapse of all charges against a group of men accused of the biggest ever fraud against the Bank of England.

The story detailed how a mysterious group of elderly Chinese had lured an Australian and a New Zealander to help represent their case to the Bank of England for cashing in what prosecutors allege was a $75 billion fraud against the bank using fake old banknotes.

Investigate magazine, with exclusive access to documentation that British prosecutors did not have, reviewed the evidence and determined no charge could stick.

Four days after publication, a British court threw out charges against six accused who had been arrested in a major sting operation trumpeted around the world. However, British police announced they were still trying to extradite and prosecute New Zealand man Bryan Archer.

Today, Investigate has learned Scotland Yard is withdrawing all charges against Archer as well, bringing an end to one of their most embarassing goofs.

The trial went from bad to worse when a prosecution claim that 500,000 pound banknotes had never been produced, was contradicted by a key Bank of England witness who confirmed the notes did in fact exist for interbank use.

Preying on the poorest

An un-named SST journalist completely misses the point of moral conservatism (again!). After interviewing Bob McCroskrie, Ian Wishart, David Lane, his report focuses on the same-old perception that conservatism is anti everything. In all the issues touched however, he took scant notice of the painful realities emerging from our permissive society, and its cavalier attitude to the suffering underclass.  The journo wrote:

"All three men are regularly dismissed by the left as slightly loony obsessives, but I found them friendly, polite and forthright as they expressed their belief that morally, New Zealand has lost its way".

It is true, "morality" has become a loaded word in the leftist mind. But surely moral concerns are intrinsically good? Not to the confused postmodern raised to believe that he is the centre of the universe and morals are flexibly applied like the laws of economics to maximise personal advantage. The left cannot see beyond its own "rights" and unfettered indulgence. Their compartmentalized world view allows them to ignore the neighbourly principles of social justice, and deny their own culpability for the disastrous outcomes of poor legislation.

In this way our legislators have stubbornly clung to their misguided notions of "harm minimisation" for the sex industry. The problem is that prostitution itself is intrinsically harmful. Any other industry would have been thoroughly spanked by OSH investigators, but sex work is already degrading, dehumanising, and dangerous. But the prostitution reform act (by radical gay crusader Tim Barnett, imported from the UK to push the social engineering agenda) has opened the floodgates for depravity and made it mainstream.

A couple of days ago, the award-winning Native Affairs show (episode not yet online) focussed on underage Maori prostitution in South Auckland and I came away totally dismayed at the decay and squalor of the suburbs where I grew up. Studies have shown that

• The average age at which girls enter prostitution is 14 or younger
• 40% of men who buy women do not use condoms
• All research on prostitution tells us that all women have to dissociate emotionally to survive the violation
• 62 percent reported being raped in prostitution, 73 percent reported physical assaults in prostitution, 72 percent were currently or formerly homeless, and 92 percent wanted to escape prostitution immediately

I was thoroughly disgusted to see Tim Barnett receiving flowers and pats on the back for legitimising a terrible social evil. Prostitution must be eradicated, not legalised and certainly not glamorised as our amoral TV programmers seem to think. Our legislators have made it easier for absentee landlords to exploit vulnerable communities; our poorest are treated like cattle and milked for rent and gambling dollars, and now their daughters are regularly selling the tattered remnants of their dignity on the streets of New Zealand. We should be ashamed of ourselves.

Peak Oil Theory

When Investigate magazine first raised the issue of Peak Oil way back in February 2004, we quoted petroleum experts who were warning oil could hit US$200 a barrel.

The media, initially, laughed at us, focusing on the furphy of oil running out. Oil won't run out. But the oil left to be discovered is more expensive than the cheap oil we've enjoyed to now. Demand from China and India as emerging powerhouse economies is putting massive pressure on existing supplies, hence the surge of oil to $135 a barrel.

Now I see some in the US are predicting US$12 a gallon... and $300 a barrel!

Go ahead...sue me

MEDIA RELEASE:

Author Ian Wishart is amused at attempts by Police National Headquarters to spin the Howard Broad drink driving story.

"Anyone who reads the testimony of police officers in Absolute Power will find major discrepancies between the consistent story they tell, and the carefully crafted version released to the media by the Government.

"The Police and the Prime Minister's Office have had a year to get their stories straight, and in my view they appear to have either concocted a story, or possibly Broad was picked up twice in 1992 which - given the allegations from police quoted in the book, is possible. In this case, PNHQ may be using information from a different incident in an attempt to discredit the book."

"Readers of Absolute Power will note that the version of events offered by police today was not offered at all in response to last year's questions."

Wishart says that apart from major discrepancies in the two versions, other questions include:

1. When was the State Services Commission investigation initiated?

2. Who did the SSC investigation interview and what documentation did it view?

3. What approaches were made by Broad or anyone within police to officers involved in any "incident"?

4. Was this referred to the Independent Police Conduct Authority by Broad, Police, the SSC or the Government?

5. On how many occasions in his career has Broad been pulled over for alleged drink driving?

AT THE END OF THE DAY...we now have a clear admission from Howard Broad that he was caught drink-driving but that he and a "senior" passenger - (above the rank of Detective Inspector) - convinced a junior traffic officer that no further action need be taken...provided Broad parked the car and walked home.

Of course, this raises fresh questions about improper influence on a junior officer - Broad should have insisted he be fully tested and charged - what kind of "discretion" does a junior officer have in dealing with ranking officers, and what kind of "discretion" is offered ordinary citizens found drink driving to such an extent that their driving is noticed?

How, I suggest, does this differ from the Peter Doone case, except to the extent that there's no evidence the driver in Doone's case was under the influence, whereas in this case Broad has admitted he was?

Wishart says if Broad wants to challenge the allegations in Absolute Power, he should sue.

Reflecting on Tongariro tragedy

Seven young lives were tragically lost in a flash flood in the central North Island, during a canyoning adventure. This has devastated teachers, students and friends of Elim Christian College, Howick. Naturally it leads to the question "Why?" and shaking of faith and hope. There are no easy answers. But Andy Bray, father of one of the victims, spoke bravely from the heart of the hope that he clings to. The following extract from a sermon by Martin Luther King, seems appropriate here.

[QUOTE]
Midnight is a confusing hour when it is difficult to be faithful. The most inspiring word that the church must speak is that no midnight long remains. The weary traveller by midnight who asks for bread is really seeking the dawn. Our eternal message of hope is that dawn will come. Our slave foreparents realized this. They were never unmindful of the fact of midnight, for always there was the rawhide whip of the overseer and the auction block where families were torn asunder to remind them of its reality. When they thought of the agonizing darkness of midnight, they sang:

Oh, nobody knows de trouble I’ve seen,
Glory Hallelujah!
Sometimes I’m up, sometimes I’m down,
Oh, yes, Lord,
Sometimes I’m almost to de groun’,
Oh, yes, Lord,
Oh, nobody knows de trouble I’ve seen,
Glory Hallelujah!

Encompassed by a staggering midnight but believing that morning would come, they sang:

I’m so glad trouble don’t last alway.
O my Lord, O my Lord, what shall I do?

Their positive belief in the dawn was the growing edge of hope that kept the slaves faithful amid the most barren and tragic circumstances ...
The dawn will come. Disappointment, sorrow, and despair are born at midnight, but morning follows. "Weeping may endure for a night," says the Psalmist, "but joy cometh in the morning." This faith adjourns the assemblies of hopelessness and brings new light into the dark chambers of pessimism.

Published in Strength to Love in 1963
[END QUOTE]

War crimes tribunals and their real worth

I believe this was mentioned in a comment on a previous thread - I should in justice find who first bought it up but

The chief Prosecutor for the ICTY the august body that has been trying individuals for war crimes during the series of wars that resulted from the breakup of Yugoslavia has made this claim.

KOSOVO Albanian leaders have been implicated in the war-time trafficking of organs taken from hundreds of Serbs, according to a book by former UN war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.

In the lead up to that war many atrocities were committed in that province but when the legal and recognized government of that territory tried to restore order Nato stepped in.  The real ethnic cleansers were turned into victims and the province was seized by Nato.

Of course the Serbs have been demonized as a matter of political convenience  but the fact that Karla Del Ponte is now speaking out shows that Nato's involvement in this was wrong, probably criminal and was really about expanding the EU's control over the Balkans rather than having any humanitarian goal.

I am fairly sure though that the west and the EU in particular will come to regret this particular action.

And that Bill Clinton's major legacy will be his role in the destruction of Yugoslavia to enhance German and French interests.

The war crimes trials are of course a farce and have been from day one.