The weblog of Christiaan Briggs
Bush Junior at today’s UN meeting invoking, I kid you not, the UN Charter:
The United Nations charter sets forth the equal rights of nations large and small. Russia’s invasion of Georgia was a violation of those words.
Bwahhh… haha! He’s not seriously suggesting that UN bollocks about justice means anything these days is he?
Glenn Greenwald reports on the appalling events in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where the Republicans have been holding their National Convention over the weekend. It appears the Federal Government has been orchestrating fascist-like police raids across the city on opposition groups in attempt to shut them up.
Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets.
Massive police raids on suspected protesters in Minneapolis | Sat, 30 Aug 2008
Federal government involved in raids on protesters | Sun, 31 Aug 2008
The Land of the Free, where the Federal Government actively recruits local residents to infiltrate and inform on groups who oppose the government, where the police steal people’s vehicles and leave them stranded on the side of the road to shut them up, where major radio presenters are arrested by thugs in riot gear for having the audacity to ask a policeman a question, and where young women get pepper sprayed in the face for holding a flower up to the police as they walk by her.
Scenes from St. Paul: Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman arrested | Mon, 1 Sep 2008
But, frankly, none of this quasi-fascism compares to apparent lack of outrage from ordinary Americans.
There’s a poem made for these people:
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn’t a Jew.When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.—Pastor Martin Niemöller.
External links:
Update, 7 Sep 2008: external link to ‘RNC: Media Intimidation Condemned’ added.
No Right Turn on the arbitrary end of all historical Treaty of Waitangi claims.
How can you put an end to seeking redress for breaches of a treaty? It’s an absurd contradiction. Either breaches exist and they need to be investigated and redressed or they don’t exist. Arbitrarily ending the formal process for these investigations to take place is like saying we don’t need courts any more to investigate crimes. In fact it’s like saying you can’t even report crimes any more, let alone have them investigated.
While a $5000 bounty for the citizen’s arrest of Rice might be viewed as a stunt, what other option do decent citizens have when a bunch of submissive softies run your police force; happy not only to show how weak they are by tolerating such a visit but by actually protecting her?
A formal complaint has now been lodged, so it will be interesting if the NZ Police can demonstrate any knowledge of justice. The least they could do is follow the UK’s lead and pretend they have the balls to enforce the law and then botch it up! Somehow, however, I don’t think even that will happen.
People like Condoleezza Rice may be safe in their own country, with such a compliant population, but they should not be allowed to travel to others without fear of being brought to justice.
Some politicians clearly have no qualms showing off how spineless they are by using fear to trade our freedoms and make it look like they’re actually doing something.
No Right Turn on the Immigration Bill, currently making it’s way through NZ parliament:
This bill has to be defeated. You can start by signing the petition here.
Check out some of the comments too.
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