March for Freedom
Skyler says:
Today about one thousand people from all walks of life marched in solidarity with the 17 people arrested by armed police on Monday 15 October. We marched for a vision of our country that allows people to protest and hold dissenting views. I for one want to keep free speech alive and well in New Zealand.
I went on this march today to say NO to strengthening the terror laws (which would see the PM given the power to be judge and jury over suspected "terrorists"). I want to see the withdrawal of the Terrorism Suppression Act and its amendments. I marched today to defend all of our civil rights.
I support Tuhoe and their right to self-determination and support the return of their confiscated land. I am saddened that their communities had to put up with a para-military style invasion by the police. I call for bail to be given to the all arrestees and support their right to a fair trial.
I came away from today’s march feeling heartened by the strength of the collaborative will of the people on the march. I hope that we can build on that solidarity & help the arrestees and their families with the struggle ahead. Let's strengthen the opposition to the Terrorism Suppression Act and its amendments. Also, let us not buy in to the climate of fear that the police/SIS/war on terror is trying to instill in this country.
Below's the photo requested in the comments box:
Maps says:
I overheard the following conversation on today's demo:
'Dad, I think I might be anarchist. I might join one of these anarchist groups.'
'Don't join the anarchists son, join the Maoris - they've got better flags.'
Fair enough too.
Today about one thousand people from all walks of life marched in solidarity with the 17 people arrested by armed police on Monday 15 October. We marched for a vision of our country that allows people to protest and hold dissenting views. I for one want to keep free speech alive and well in New Zealand.
I went on this march today to say NO to strengthening the terror laws (which would see the PM given the power to be judge and jury over suspected "terrorists"). I want to see the withdrawal of the Terrorism Suppression Act and its amendments. I marched today to defend all of our civil rights.
I support Tuhoe and their right to self-determination and support the return of their confiscated land. I am saddened that their communities had to put up with a para-military style invasion by the police. I call for bail to be given to the all arrestees and support their right to a fair trial.
I came away from today’s march feeling heartened by the strength of the collaborative will of the people on the march. I hope that we can build on that solidarity & help the arrestees and their families with the struggle ahead. Let's strengthen the opposition to the Terrorism Suppression Act and its amendments. Also, let us not buy in to the climate of fear that the police/SIS/war on terror is trying to instill in this country.
Below's the photo requested in the comments box:
Maps says:
I overheard the following conversation on today's demo:
'Dad, I think I might be anarchist. I might join one of these anarchist groups.'
'Don't join the anarchists son, join the Maoris - they've got better flags.'
Fair enough too.
posted by Skyler at 10/27/2007 08:54:00 pm
13 Comments:
Wonderful photos !!
Wish I could've been there.
Do you have any photos of the banners/placards the women were holding in photo: IMG_1541_1_1.JPG 2nd to last photo in your series. One banner was a big yellow one with black letters ?
Many thanks for your informative blog and photos.
sorry, 3rd to last photo.
Great report Skyler -
I was on this march.
Very important - vital - issue.
The Maori flag is great.
Apparently we're all supporting apartheid:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10472673
When will the left learn? Nationalism, order and law are all more powerful motivating forces that abstract socialist ideals about tino rangatiratanga. Maori sovereignty is about as popular as a pork chop in a synagogue and people will always choose order over law. Aligning the left with dubious half-witted fantasists like Tame Iti & co is a recipe for disaster. Besides, I doubt the state has done anything wrong here. Despite your endless (and patronising in its own way) romaticising of the situation in the Urewera's the police are charged with maintaing law and order in all parts of this land. Anyone from up the BOP way will have endless anecdotal stories of the general lawlessness and self-aggrandizement of the likes of Iti in that part of the country. the reality most likely is the police have grown tired of the challenge to their power from the mob who presume to de facto power in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, and resolved to teach them a lesson they won't forget. And fair enough in my book.
If anyone needs confimration that Sanctuary is a bona fide dipshit, they can visit his blog and read the latest entry:
'In dream four I invented a twin 3-inch anti-aircraft gun that sounded really cool when it was shooting at 180 rounds per minute, all the guys were really impressed and it sounded like a Phalanx CIWS with lots of muzzle flash when I was shooting it at night. It was aimed by sitting between the two guns and using a pistol grip with a circular sight on top of it and attached to each gun by a metal rod, and you just held the pistol grip and lined up the sight with the target and pulled the trigger. it was really cool and everyone was really impressed and lots of people wanted to buy it.'
Nice, man. Nice.
Well done - not only you don't have enough guts to actually put your real name, you also decide to take my personal blog out of context, and all so you can refuse to address the substantive issue by making a personal attack on someone you don't know. I imagine you you must be terribly pleased with yourself, though I suspect you are also representing the deep denial some on the left suffer from.
Oh sorry old chap! It would be dreadfully unfair, on the basis of a single primary source, to rush to the judgement that you're a dipshit small dick racist with a compensatory fixation on guns. Here's another quote from your blog:
'I have spent countless hours of my life playing with Airfix toy soldiers, I fondly remember as a child feigning sickness in Napier so my Mum could take me to her work at Abbey's burger bar in Hastings Street and give me ham sandwichesand milkshakes out the back, the highlight of my day being given a few dollars to take the long trek to the toy store in Dickens Street where I would carefully select and buy my box of 1/72nd scale toy soldiers. I still own those toy soldiers and now, almost four decades on, I can still take them out of their box and, if no one is looking, put them on the floor'
Conclusion: you're a dipshit small dick racist with a compensatory fixation on guns.
http://www.norightturn.blogspot.com
'Two weeks after being arrested, another of the Urewera 17 has been bailed. Like Rongomai Bailey, who was bailed last week, Marama Mayrick is an unlikely terrorist. She's part of the same environmental film project (as is at least one more of the arrestees who still has name suppression), and has submitted to Parliament in support of climate change legislation - not exactly someone you'd expect to be running around the bush with a gun planning to kill people. Again, people could be wrong about this, but if so she's fooled a lot of people.
This is why people are so angry and taking to the streets: because once you find out who the arrestees are, the police's carefully leaked claims simply become incredible. Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence, and so far the police have insisted on secrecy and given us none.'
Golly, so much anger anonymous! I imagine the Police have got you under survelliance as well, on the basis of your two posts here not a moment to soon.
No wonder leftists like yourself can't get any popular support, you totally lose your rag when presented with a POV that doesn't line up with a world view as every bit Manichean as George W. Bush's one.
You're a figure of fun, Lt Sanctuary, not an object of hatred. How's the batallion in the billiards room shaping up?
"When will the left learn? Nationalism, order and law are all more powerful motivating forces that abstract socialist ideals about tino rangatiratanga."
Are they? Why? Should they be? Or shouldn't they be? (And how con you have non-abstract ideals? All ideas involve abstraction.) - Tama Iti impresses me the more I see him on U Tube and the more he says. That is, his mana - his intelligence, his knowledge - his passion. (He talks not only of rangatiratanga but of e.g Maori (Tuhoe - remember Maori were many tribes originally) music) I have also met him - it was shock as I - well I am a quiet (probably petit bourgeois) Pakeha - but I have got more and more respect and interest for and about him and his movement for independence for Maori etc
"Maori sovereignty is about as popular as a pork chop in a synagogue and people will always choose order over law."
"as a pork chop in a synagogue"
A pretty poor example of writing - this is a terrible and meaningless cliche. What has reference to Jewish people have to do with anything?
By "order over law" do you mean you support Hitler's call for law and order? So he could have his pork chop in peace? ... or something - this is a bit bit confusing - most people - given a choice would want order - yes - but they would also want freedom and passion and art and music and tikanga and the right to keep their own lands and traditions and most people support people of mana and spirit.
Maps is not (overly) Romantic* (certainly not as romantic as you claim -if you mean The Romantics of The Lake District etc - he has gone well past them!) - but as with abstraction - we all romanticise somewhat - nothing wrong with it...but we are also aware of the "non-romantic" (and sometimes harsh)side of Maori and European (and other) life etc in NZ or Aotearoa.
* But he who loses love of ideas and some spark of romanticsm is like psycholgical and spiritual corpse.
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