Why I don't give to Amnesty anymore

Idiot Savant blogs about "Freedom week" when Amnesty International seeks to raise money for its campaigns.

I wont be giving, even though Amnesty has done much good work in the past. Why?

1. Amnesty doesn't pay any attention to terrorists, organisations engaging in bombings in Iraq, Israel, Turkey, Spain, the UK or anywhere else. Its concern about governments is right and appropriate, but ignores how militia like Hamas, Al Qaeda and the like effectively take over, run and oppress whole areas of countries, and more importantly, wage war on others.

2. Despite the mountains of evidence of young children and pregnant women being enslaved by the state in gulags, execution of political prisoners en masse, starvation as a tool of political oppression, medical experimentation on political prisoners, chemical weapon tests on political prisoners, all in North Korea - Amnesty International spends mountains more effort on Islamists in Guantanamo Bay. The worst human rights abuses carried out by any government today are stark and plain in North Korea - Amnesty knows this, comments on it, but does not lead a major campaign against it. This is at best negligent, at worst deliberately evasive.

Its biggest campaigns are to control arms (which in some cases has caused more deaths than it has saved, e.g. Bosnia Hercegovina), concern about civil liberties eroded by what it calls the "so-called "war on terror"", implying terrorism isn't a problem, and to stop violence against women (which is often neglected and which I fully support).

It's about time that its biggest campaigns included eliminating political imprisonment. For that is, after all, what the organisation was once focused on. Until its voice is as loud on North Korea as any of the other issues, I'd rather give to organisations that fight for those in the most oppressed prison state there is.

As oil prices settle back

Will the Greens end their armageddon like cheerleading about "Peak Oil" which is simultaneously seen as disaster, and a wonderful opportunity?

Will the ease in the price, inevitable as the high price was choking off demand, mean the Greens will see it as a victory, but a disaster now? Of course!! Lower oil prices will be seen as "no reason to be complacent", and "fueling climate change" and "we still need to worship subsidised collectivised transport that isn't necessary more environmentally friendly than cars and trucks".

Winston's four legged friends?

Well, Dr. Michael Bassett has certainly thrown something new into the mix - NZ First's largely unknown support base from the racing industry, which appears to have done well through its "investment" in Labour's critical support partner. The Sunday Star Times journalist Tony Wall has made allegations of NZ First getting substantial financial support from the industry and meanwhile benefiting from many policies of the current government peculiar to racing.

If true, this surely has to hurt, except of course, the truth that easily 5% of voters are dumb enough to believe anything this snake oil merchant has to say. He'll claim the SST is a paper of foreign big business, and is out to get him - and people will believe it.

(Hat Tip: No Minister)

Zimbabwe sadly slips further

Well it had to happen, according to Stuff quoting Reuters, Zimbabwe has effectively redenominated its currency by dropping zeros. Ten of them. So that 1 billion Zim dollars will now be 1 Zim dollar.

Of course given that it may be rather hard to print the money given the end of the contract with the German suppliers of banknote paper. Meanwhile, the two-faced friend of murderers, Thabo Mbeki continues to meet Morgan Tsvangirai with the attempt to create a government of national unity, for foreign consumption, because - of course - it wont really mean a difference. It will be like how Joshua Nkomo was cauterised by Mugabe in the early 1980s, after Mugabe's goons butchered their way through his "allies".

I did note one point of unintended humour when the report has the phrase "Mbeki's spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga" conveniently named because Mbeki is a master of ratshit.

MDC isn't relenting though, insisting that Tsvangirai lead a new government. ZANU-PF is insisting that the "election win" be respected.

It's very simple - if MDC compromises with ZANU-PF it will cease to be a credible or moral force in Zimbabwe. Compromise with evil is concession to evil - and conceding to those who would murder you means you lose.

Thabo Mbeki is part of that evil, the South African government and the ANC is part of that evil - and the so-called peace and human rights movement is turning a blind eye.

Your taxes to feed child torturers

Yes Winston has announced NZ$500,000 to go to food aid in North Korea. Not a lot of your taxes, but your taxes anyway. It is to go to the UN's World Food Programme, known for being apolitical, you can be sure that North Korea will take the aid and ration it out as a totalitarian state does - with the army and the elite having their fair share, followed by essential workers.

Oh and if you think "well they are poor, we can't let them starve" then check one thing. Who is letting them starve? Let me show you where they live:

Meanwhile, here is part of the gulag with the clearly marked school for child prisoners under age 12.



Yes - you can be sure that New Zealand isn't to blame for the suffering of North Koreans.