Education in a dictatorship courtesy of Te Wananga!

Trevor Loudon has pointed out that this week Te Wananga o Aotearoa is hosting the 7th World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education. The opening address on Sunday was from the Education Minister of Cuba – Luis Gomez Gutierrez as listed on this pdf file.

Te Wananga is a private organisation and people in a free country can organise whatever they like- unlike people in Cuba. However, the lack of any journalists in New Zealand will see the presence of one of Castro’s cronies, a representative of a government that uses education a blatantly a tool of state indoctrination, go almost unnoticed.

I don’t doubt that Mana media and most of the other Maori media will report on Luis Gomez Gutierrez as if he is just another Education Minister – like one from Australia, Canada or Sweden. Well he is NOT.

Cuba uses education not to train and teach children how to be their best, but as a tool of indoctrination and state worship. It teaches one view of history, and there is not the slightest hint of alternative points of view able to be disseminated – after all this is a one-party state which imprisons and executes those it believes to be opposed to the regime. Luis Gomez Gutierrez is in power, not because he was elected, but because he was selected. If you produced a leaflet calling for his resignation, or undertook a conference in Havana inviting the Australian Education Minister, you would be thrown in prison at best, at worst tortured and executed for treason. Cuba calls free broadcasting directed towards it with views it doesn’t like as “aggression” – see its own propaganda organ here if you can stomach it.

Here is one sample of what you can get a sentence from 26 months to 28 years for in Cuba, according to Amnesty International:

- publishing articles or giving interviews, in US-funded or other media, said to be critical of economic, social or human rights matters in Cuba;
- communicating with international human rights organisations;
- having contact with entities or individuals viewed as hostile to Cuba's interests, including US officials in Cuba, or members of the Cuban exile community in the United States or Europe;
- being involved in groups which are not officially recognised by the Cuban authorities or which are accused of conducting counterrevolutionary activity, including among others: unofficial trade unions; professional associations such as doctors' and teachers’ associations; academic institutions; press associations or independent libraries.

Don't you dare be involved in a group setting up an independent library -Mr Gutierrez's goons wont be amused.

Human Rights Watch reported on the crackdown against independent journalists and writers in 2003 when dozens were rounded up, arrested and imprisoned - this was described as an "attack on civil society".

In fact, pointing out any of this in Cuba would see me imprisoned - but hey it's ok they aren't part of the evil American/Western/Colonial/Genocidal elite (nobody ever tell Te Wananga that the history of Spanish colonisation of the Americas was not about respecting the indigenous people - but that's all forgotten since it was 300-400 years ago).

However, to the organiser of this conference, this is ok – Cuba being a one-party state which allows little dissent, no free speech is ok – it is, after all, an “alternative world view” and the moral equivalance of the scum who believe in this is clear.

Before I see it, yes I know China is just as bad, and the government sucks up to it for economic reasons, and the same with Iran. There would be similar criticism about the Education Minister of the People's Republic of China.

Setting that to one side, people can promote indigenous education of any kind if they wish. I believe that people should be able to set up whatever schools they like, and children can be taught there – but it should be by choice, and not taxpayer funded. Private schools should be free from the state system where they can rise or fall – and if people have their tax money back they can choose whatever school they like. Maori schools can flourish, as long as there is competition between schools and ideas.

However, using the Cuban Education Minister to open a conference sends a signal that indigenous education is about indoctrination, compulsion and authoritarianism – and if there was anything that the right and left of Parliament should be opposing, it is the presence of a Minister from such a regime.

So, I look forward to hearing the Greens, Labour, Act, Maori Party, National, NZ First, United Future and Jim Anderton condemning it – I wont be holding my breath! And I wonder if your taxes are helping pay for it? They are almost certainly helping some people attend it.

Pro-market TVNZ?

Cathy Odgers gives a tremendous example of how Alan Gibbs would be a better owner of TVNZ than Nanny State. Lefty free TVNZ would provide enormous balance against TV3’s favourite leftist – John “I voted Alliance” Campbell.

Back in the halcyon days of free market broadcasting, World Service New Zealand and the late lamented Radio Liberty were shining lights in the wilderness of NZ broadcasting. Perigo’s breakfast show, Coddington’s 9 till noon show and a series of pro-business shows in the afternoons, with umpteen promos, were supportive of enterprise, wealth creation and anti-government.

For those leftists who felt oppressed (despite having a taxpayer funded compulsory pay radio station called National Radio espousing their views), every Sunday saw every political party getting a slot to broadcast. The Labour Party invariably chose Chris Carter to spend an hour on air playing songs, talking politics and taking talkback calls – unfortunately too many political parties took up the offer and it became very boring radio – most politicians are not that entertaining for that long.

Unfortunately most TV reporters (NOT journalists – journalists apply their minds to an event and have skill, reporters say what is on the screen) are died in the wool lefties who think that the left is caring – largely because they spend their lives telling people the achievements of others. Their egoes are based on being on TV, not on actually producing or achieving anything beyond that – the vapid bitch who does BBC London news said that stock and currency traders do basically nothing useful compared to bureaucrats – given that a machine could do her job and she is funded from compulsory pay TV tax - I hope her pension manager gives up in protest and tells her to manage her investments.

Anyway, TVNZ should be sold, then we wont be pretending it is objective, or caring if it is not – then the owner will determine the bias. The big UK papers do this wonderfully – you know what you are getting with the Telegraph, Times, Guardian and the Independent, two papers on the right and two on the left. With the Sun you know you’re getting something, as long as it has tits!

Not just a plane

Boeing recently announced it was launching a completely revised and extended version of the Boeing 747 – called the Boeing 747-8 (pictured). Now to some it is just a response to the enormous Airbus A380. It has a longer fuselage, more fuel efficient and quieter engines, greater range and new interior (larger staircase and scope to put bunks on a level above the main cabin).

However, none of that is too important – I think it is time to celebrate what the Boeing 747 is – it is not just a plane, it was a revolution in travel and changed society far greater than any recycling scheme or whingeing anti-globalisation activist ever did.

In January 1970 Pan Am started flying the first commercial Boeing 747 service -London-New York. The 747 was originally developed to meet the call for a large military transport, a contract Boeing failed to get, so it was adapted to be a passenger airliner – which was almost three times the capacity of the Boeing 707 – then the most successful long haul airliner.

The revolution the 747 introduced was to make long distance air travel affordable and easy for millions of people. Only fifteen years before the 747, aviation was the preserve of the very wealthy – ships were the means for most to get between countries, and trains within them. The Boeing 707 made some difference, as it halved the travel time for international flights – but the 747, by providing enormous capacity truly made economy class the dominant means of air travel. It was more comfortable as well – the wider body being more spacious than single aisle aircraft, and in flight movies became the norm (now superseded by individual screens at all seats).

It was the 747 that finally killed off the scheduled ocean liner business – few wanted to spend days or weeks to cover distances that could now take hours. When you next cross the Pacific or the Atlantic by air, look down at the vast void of the ocean and imagine that for every hour you are travelling it would take a day by sea (24 hours) – the Wright Brothers would have been astounded.

Airlines now had an airliner, which was more fuel efficient than the 707, with 2-3x the capacity, to fill. It was no faster, but in order to fill those seats airlines had to be innovative with fares, offering discounts for early purchase – and it was in the 1970s that easy, affordable international air travel became accessible for the average person in developed countries. To take one example, the price for a return economy class flight from New Zealand to London in 1983 was around $2200 – a price that is largely unchanged, while incomes and other prices have risen dramatically. That is testament to the improved fuel efficiency of aircraft and competition in aviation.

The 747 of today uses 25% less fuel than the first 747s, and produces half the noise – that from a profit motivated American company (aren't they meant to destroy the environment?).

That travel has seen the rise of the “OE” (overseas experience) whereby young people can now afford to fly halfway around the world to live and work, and experience a foreign culture and way of life. Families that were long divided through migration could visit each other regularly – people could have friends in other countries that they could actually meet up with from time to time. The world became smaller thanks to the Boeing 747.

It also has changed business. The appearance in the late 1970s of business class, to fill the price and service gap between first and economy demonstrates that – businesspeople could now go from one side of the world to the other, economically, within 30 hours – reduced to 24 hours as the range of the 747 reduced the need for refuelling stops. The enormous growth in business travel has complemented tourist travel – as the price of business and first class tickets helps keep economy class tickets cheap. On top of that, the 747 revolutionised air cargo – not just for mail, but perishable commodities and small high value products. The first orders for the new 747-8 are for cargo versions. The Boeing 747 has encouraged growth in wealth, jobs and trade.

This big bird isn’t exactly the most attractive creature of the sky to most, but I think it is magnificent. On 5 October 1905, Wilbur Wright flew a record 39 minutes in the air for a distance of 39km, largely circling – today at any one time there are hundreds of machines of around 400 tonnes, carrying around 300 or so people, flying 11km high, at 900km/h, watching movies, eating meals, drinking wine, sleeping, reading – as they go non-stop between locations such as London and Los Angeles, Tokyo and Sydney, Singapore and Frankfurt.

Yes there are many other planes that have followed on, the Airbuses (thanks to European subsidies) and all the other, smaller Boeings, and others. However, in almost all cases, they followed in the footsteps of the 747.

However, Boeing risked bankruptcy in proceeding with the 747 – had it failed, shareholders, employees and the world would have been worse off – and most of those who don’t even think twice about the 747 would not have helped them out. Boeing even thought the 747 was an interim model, until supersonic flight had become widespread and economic – which was to prove wrong.

So salute Boeing – the 747 – and all that succeed it. It is one of the great inventions of capitalism that has changed your world for the better, and just imagine where the minds of the 21st century will take commercial aviation.

Thanksgiving Day and Buy Nothing Day

Oh dear, the Greens have gotten far too overexcited about this – using their electricity and no doubt fossil fuels getting to work, or to surf the internet.

For people in dozens of countries it is always buy nothing day - because there is nothing to buy! But in one country it is a far more important day – Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a time for Americans to celebrate what they are grateful for – their country. I am grateful for it too.

Today I salute the United States – the world is full of those who hate it, but use the devices, techniques, science, entertainment made by its citizens. I salute the United States because it is the birth of an idea – implemented by the Declaration of Independence – that government does not exist for its own purpose, but as a servant of citizens. That government exists to protect fundamental rights – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – not to take away those rights for some other purpose. It separated church from state, and so was a fundamental break away from the European monarchy, church based governments of the time. Despite the best efforts of some on the religious right, that separation is entrenched.

Since then, of course, there have been amendments, some good, some bad. The USA has slipped closer towards statism over the last century, with property rights and personal rights increasingly being limited – but with that constitution still protecting some rather remarkable freedoms – such as speech. For some steps forward (recognising that all adults, men and women of all races have the same legal status), there have been steps backward (income tax, eminent domain) – and the US is now more bureaucratic, taxed and regulated than it has ever been.

Nevertheless, it is still a country of dreams – where, by and large, you are free to set up business, to be yourself, to own property and pursue your happiness. Contrast that to its most formidable opponents – the USSR, an evil empire of soulless, lifeless destruction, bulldozing its ideology of sacrifice over the minds, hearts and limbs of all under it, - Nazi Germany/Japan, violence worshipping sacrificers of life and destroyers of beauty, - Islamic fundamentalism, a cave-dwelling slave owning (called wives) mongerers of anti-life. In none of those countries could you say you owned your life -the state or a mullah did for you, these were countries of abject slavery - and the Islamic fundamentalists would make the world this way if they are not eliminated.

The United States, with allies saved most of the world from the tyranny of Japanese militarism, Nazism and Marxism-Leninism from the 1930s to the 1990s – for that I am eternally grateful and consider Thanksgiving a day when I am myself thankful for the USA.

As the US is now waging war against Islamic fundamentalist terrorism – for that, most of the world hates it, to those who hate it, may you all go live in a country that espouses the anti-Americanism you espouse. Reject the goods produced in the USA, the inventions made in the USA and the ideas – treat the world as if the USA does not exist – there are countries that do that, and they don’t let their people leave freely. The terrorism propagated by the haters of America is not to be negotiated with - there are not reasons for attacking innocent civilians time and time again - unless you too hate life. Nobody tries to excuse or understand a rapist, so why try to understand a terrorist?

That is why today – on Thanksgiving Day – I am going to shop, and buy something I want – and have a drink tonight to the USA, and to capitalism. The USA was the birth of an ideal and a project for government to exist only to protect freedom.

P.S. Those who bought nothing can feel some sense of accomplishment in having saved money, but little else. If you want to help the poor, then buy something from them that you want – give to a charity that genuinely helps them help themselves.

Women’s Refuge

I was struck by a comment on David Farrar’s blog on his post about today being the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and his suggestion that it is an appropriate day to donate to Women’s Refuge. A comment was that “I'll donate to them when they drop their anti-male feminazi stance.”

Now it should be without question that anyone who initiates any violence against women, men and children, is an uncivilised barbarian. Violence is only ever legitimate in defence against violence – and the real issue in New Zealand are cases of domestic violence. Yes, men are victims of violence too, mostly from other men, occasionally by women. Children are also victims of violence from women, more often than is acknowledged given that women are still the primary caregivers of children (and women typically get lower sentences for any violent offences against children than men do).

Women's Refuge undoubtedly does a great deal of good – it provides a place for women in crisis to go if they fear violence, and take their children. It is somewhere where they can feel safe, and for that alone, Women's Refuge gets my support. I am unsure where men who fear violence should go, but Women's Refuge has no obligation to do anything about that – nor should it.

However, I thought I would take it upon myself to check out the claim that Women's Refuge has an “anti-male feminazi stance” by simply looking around the website. If this is true, then Women's Refuge deserves criticism for that – if not, then good people may be withholding support for what is just a rumour.

Feminist philosophy flows through the pages, but I found nothing that was blatantly “anti-male”. Certainly I’d question whether there are “systems in our society that blame the victim”, but much of what is said is arguably true. The “wheel of equality” (yes I know, this sort of thing isn’t my way of doing things either) certainly mentioned a lot about listening to “her” and respecting “her” opinions, when a good relationship has all of thing listed running both ways, but that is a minor error. The Lesbian Power and Control Wheel was interesting, particularly in a section called “using heterosexual privilege”, but there are issues of inter-lesbian violence and whatever they want to do to deal with it, is their concern. There is a sense of the world being a big patriarchal power structure, where men control everything and think in a “man like” way, and sustain structures that oppress women.

I don’t think Women's Refuge would agree with most of my politics or philosophy, but then again – that doesn’t really matter to me. Women's Refuge does not exist because a bunch of women hate men, but because some rather cowardly men beat up women – instead of being alone or treating people they profess to love with some respect, they use women and their kids as punchbags – and that in my mind is a far greater sin than being ideologically different from me.

Nowhere on the website did I see the hate filled venom of the true feminazis – Catherine Mackinnon and Andrea Dworkin – who have written about how heterosexual sex is like an invasion of a woman’s body, and that all penetrative sex is a form of colonisation. That sort of nonsense, written by the Hitlers of feminism – should be consigned to the dustbin, but nowhere on the Women's Refuge website is there any support for initiating violence against men. All men are potential rapists just as much as all women are potential child beaters – whoop de do – just because the occasional bitter twisted woman carries hatred towards men, the sort akin to the racism of the National Front, shouldn’t taint what good this service does.

Women's Refuge does a good service – and if you want it to disappear then ostracise everyone who initiates violence. In the meantime, donate and men, tell them what a good service they do. Remember, most of the women in these places largely deal with men who are abusive, they could do with seeing that in most cases, most men are peaceful and intolerant of violence.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge that almost everyone on the free market "right" and those who are libertarian, despise domestic violence or indeed any form of violent or sexual abuse. It is a construct of some on the fringes of the left who think that those on the "right" are conservative, United Future type family values supporters who want women chained to the kitchen sink and obeying their husbands - this is, with few exceptions, utter nonsense - but that belief helps keep them angry.