The Human Rights Torch Relay is an international campaign that seeks to bring an end to all human rights abuses in China. The torch will travel the world during the run up to the 2008 Olympics and its coming to New Zealand in January.
The relay is being organized by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, a group that advocates that the Olympic games should be boycotted on the grounds of serious human rights abuses in China.
Falun Gong is a religious group that is being persecuted by the Chinese government, in particular the regime practises human organ harvesting on the Falun Gong.
Why China should not hold the Olympic Games
China has a savage death penalty system.
China has no freedom of religion.
China has no freedom of speech.
China has severe internet censorship.
Lets help the Chinese people get the freedom and civility that a human being is born for.
We are so self-congratulatory about our officially disarmed society,
and so dismissive of colonial rednecks, that we have forgotten that
within living memory British citizens could buy any gun – rifle,
pistol, or machinegun – without any licence. When Dr Watson walked the
streets of London with a revolver in his pocket, he was a perfectly
ordinary Victorian or Edwardian… in 1909, policemen in Tottenham borrowed at least four
pistols from passers-by (and were joined by other armed citizens) when
they set off in pursuit of two anarchists unwise enough to attempt an
armed robbery. We now are shocked that so many ordinary people should
have been carrying guns in the street; the Edwardians were shocked
rather by the idea of an armed robbery.
If armed crime in London in the years before the First World War amounted to
less than 2 per cent of that we suffer today, it was not simply because
society then was more stable. Edwardian Britain was rocked by a series of
massive strikes in which lives were lost and troops deployed, and
suffragette incendiaries, anarchist bombers, Fenians, and the spectre of a
revolutionary general strike made Britain then arguably a much more
turbulent place than it is today. In that unstable society the impact of the
widespread carrying of arms was not inflammatory, it was deterrent of
violence.
As late as 1951, self-defence was the justification of three quarters of all
applications for pistol licences. And in the years 1946-51 armed robbery,
the most significant measure of gun crime, ran at less than two dozen
incidents a year in London; today, in our disarmed society, we suffer as
many every week.
All emphasis mine. Of course, the situation was very similar in New Zealand. The state put far more trust in ordinary citizens than is the case today.
In fact, it was the same for drugs. Munday mentions Dr. Watson’s habit of carrying a revolver in his pocket; Sherlock Holmes’ “only vice” was his cocaine habit. Both activities are highly illegal in today’s London. And in New Zealand, opium, hemp and cocaine were available at any good chemist. Overuse was frowned on, but almost no-one advocated banning these widely-used substances. Citizens were trusted to take care of themselves.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
As with all legislation, the party pill ban has to be reviewed for consistency with the Bill of Rights before it can be passed. Unfortunately, the BORA has no teeth, and the “rights” it describes can be violated by Parliament with impunity, as long as it is for the benefit of the “community.”
But it is interesting anyway that Michael Cullen, in his role as Attorney-General, has pinpointed the “supply” clause of the BZP ban as a breach of the Bill of Rights. It would violate the presumption of innocence by forcing anyone caught with more than 5 grams of BZP (or 100 tablets) to prove that they don’t have it for the purpose of supply. It is yet to be seen whether this review will actually make any difference.
In an ideal system, all drug prohibition would fail the Bill of Rights test due to the violation of individual sovereignty inherent in such laws. New Zealand survived for many years with all drugs legal, and society didn’t collapse. Drug prohibition only started due to a moral panic about opium-smoking Chinese immigrants. So this BZP ban is nothing more than a throwback to the “Yellow Peril”.
Banning a safe, legal alternative to illegal drugs is a horribly retarded example of government incompetence, as they demonstrate not only their utter inability to grasp reality, but their complete lack of concern for the health and safety of the drug users who they claim to be trying to protect. Shame on Jim Anderton and Jacqui Dean!
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
The EFB is one of the most breathtakingly audacious things the Labour Government of New Zealand has attempted so far, exceeding even the 2006 retrospective legislation which legalised the theft of almost a million dollars of taxpayer money (and which the LIbertarianz celebrated by declaring Banana Republic Day). The Electoral Finance Bill will have a chilling effect on free speech, severely limiting an amazing array of activities which discuss or criticise almost any political issue. And the bill’s effect will occur exactly when we need to discuss politics the most: election year.
The bill is actually the culmination of a range of attacks on free speech by the Labour government, as succinctly explained by the VRWCNZ:
Tell your friends. This horrific attack on free speech cannot be allowed to pass.
Here’s a slideshow I gave at the Libertarianz Conference 2007 to show off Libertarianz activism over the last few years.
You can play the slideshow while listening to my own dulcet tones telling you what’s going on, by downloading this mp3 (17 MB); my bit starts around 37:15.
You can also download the full-quality slideshow from this page on SlideShare.
In late July, Phil and I had a great time attending the 2007 Libertarianz conference held at Mac’s Brewery right here in Wellington. One of the highlights of the conference was the rollout of Transitional Policies, which we hope will be inspiring for certain political parties who haven’t come up with new ideas recently. The first transitional policy presented was the education policy, which Phil and I wrote along with Craig Milmine and Colin Cross (current and former teachers, respectively).
I’d like to invite you to listen to the first audio we’ve made available here at Pacific Empire: Phil’s speech, Free the Schools (mp3, 12 MB)
The text of Phil’s speech follows after the break.
Welcome to the new online home of Libertarianz on Campus, the youth wing of New Zealand’s only libertarian party. Our dedicated team of contributors will use this blog to announce events, report on activism, offer commentary and analysis, and advocate liberty. We will complement, rather than compete with, the existing Libertarianz sites and blogs listed on the sidebar. Some content will be crossposted to our own blogs.
If you are interested in getting involved, just send us an email at libzoncampus@gmail.com. We have branches at Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury universities and can offer support if you want to set up a new branch. More on the About Us page.
Please add our feed to your reader or bookmark this site, and remember to check back regularly. Enjoy!
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Posted on July 17th, 2007, by Phil Howison,
in Meta | 3 Comments
