Obama sticks a finger up New Zealand

The Obama Administration, true to form, has decided to subsidise dairy exports. Given the Bush Administration sought global agreement to abolish agricultural export subsidies (and the EU - meaning the French - didn't want to), it demonstrates a great leap backwards for international trade.

Yes, all you fawning cheerleaders of the great leftwing change merchant, he's basically told the efficient dairy industry in New Zealand to go fuck itself. Federated Farmers have already responded calling the US dairy lobby a "compost heap" (which has made Lindsay Perigo smile).

Ironic that Maryan Street is calling for strong protests, because I'd put a bet that she and the rest of the Labour caucus cheered Obama's election, despite his record in supporting higher agricultural subsidies being clear.

Yes, it shouldn't surprise. The Obama Administration is no friend of free trade, which means it is no friend of the economies of other countries. It's a friend of big fat taxpayer thieving mud rolling stinking pork - change you can believe in? Yep, if you believe in subsidising inefficient producers to screw US taxpayers, and efficient dairy producers the world over.

Thanks for nothing Mr President.

Greens support breaking traffic laws

After all, if a bunch of freeloaders can walk illegally on a motorway, and not face arrest, then you can start driving on bike lanes, in fact, why not do whatever you want on it?

The Greens endorsed it, so it's about time to see how many other traffic laws the Greens happily will let you break. Time I think for trucks to carry loads up to 62 tonnes on highways, as long as the truck can safely carry it. Speed as much as you like too. The Greens have decided it's better to break a law than propose a new one. The oath that Green MPs declared to uphold the law has slipped to one side when it comes to inciting people to break this one - odd for a party that is so keen on promoting new laws.

The message is clear:

1. If it's a motorway, fuck it, cyclists and walkers can use it (why is Auckland Harbour Bridge special?), screw what it does to the motorists paying to use it;

2. Who gives a shit who else your disrupt, like "a tanker carrying urgently needed oxygen to North Shore Hospital was stuck, until police organised a passage through".

3. If the Greens don't like the law, they don't introduce a bill into Parliament, you don't propose a change to traffic laws, you just tell people to break it.

Oh and if you think NZTA stuffed up, you might find it isn't legally empowered to exempt people from traffic rules - the fact it did so before for the Hikoi does not change that.

Let's be clear, I don't care either way if a walkway or cycleway is attached to the Auckland Harbour Bridge, as long as those who will use it pay for it. NZTA cannot authorise people to walk and cycle on a motorway, but it can remove motorway designation from the Auckland Harbour Bridge (but why do that?). However, this rather pathetic little protest is about people wanting to force you to pay for a facility for them to use - and not giving a damn about who they disrupt along the way.

Moreover, the party that wants to regulate, ban and compel so many things, suddenly thinks it's ok to break a rather straightforward law regarding safety. So wait for the day the Greens say it's ok to trespass on railway bridges and tunnels, and say that "the trains should have to wait for me".

Irish scandal rocking government

The report from the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse in Ireland is sending significant shockwaves through government and communities in Ireland. Quite rightly so.

One of the scandals behind this Commission is how the Congregation of Christian Brothers successfully sued the Commission to prevent its members being named in the report. What is that if it isn't institutional shame and coverup of crime? That ISN'T just individuals, it is a subset of the Church protecting its own. Indeed it appears the Christian Brothers have more allegations against them than any other group running institutions.

It appears there has been revelations of many more people coming forward since this report was published, with their own stories. It has opened a wound that not only implicates the Church, but also the State and indeed a past culture in Irish society that promoted a culture of silence and not questioning the authority of the Church IMBLATA (Irish Man Boy Love and Torture Association).

It would be nice if the Congregation of Christian Brothers would be excommunicated, and have their assets confiscated to help pay compensation to the victims. I look forward to the outraged Catholics demanding this - a cozy little club of child torturers and rapists.

In fact, why don't you email the Congregation of Christian Brothers in Ireland, the email addresses are here, and ask them to publish the names of those who abused children, to expel them from their organisation, to help the victims of abuse to prosecute them.

The point is simple, either the Church purges itself, or it will have slipped another mile down the moral authority scale.

Oh and don't even start to say "what about abortion". To even start to think that legal abortion (outside Ireland) excuses the torture of children on such a grand and systemic scale shows complete moral bankruptcy. It's never a defence to say "but you're not catching everyone who is evil".

Who is excluding Maori?

I note the image from this post on the Standard the specious claim that the new Auckland supercity (which I oppose) excludes Maori.

Not having preferential guaranteed representation based on race, when you have the same voting rights, same rights to stand candidates and be elected as everyone else, doesn't exclude - it simply means you are being treated the same.

No matter how some Maori paint it, any other option IS race based preference, it IS racism, and it is not what New Zealand in the 21st century should be embracing.

The matter of who your ancestors are should not give you privilege in government, and the idea that Maori need Maori to represent them is no more specious than to claim I need a brown haired blue eyed half Scottish, half English descent 30 something male who was adopted, with a double degree, mixed state and integrated Anglican education and is atheist, to represent me. Otherwise you think that political ideas are inherently dependent on race, which is a concept I'd rather was left back in history, like the Germans did in 1945.

BNP at Buckingham Palace?

It appears that members of the London Assembly have been invited to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, which includes the BNP councillor Richard Barnbrook, who proposes taking as his guest BNP Leader Nick Griffin.

All a bit embarrassing, and Mayor Boris Johnson is trying to get it stopped. However I DO love the comment in the Guardian about it:

"Yeah, it's terrible that these people believe that certain individuals are inherently superior to others based entirely on their genetic heritage and thus deserve various state-sanctioned privileges, regardless of merit or ability.

And the BNP are crap, too."

After all, Prince Philip could probably more closely associate with the BNP than most politicians.

However the debate is amusing - some say in a democracy you put up with whoever gets elected, others think the BNP is disreputable (but I doubt they'd say the same about the vile RESPECT party of that traitor George Galloway). For me, I say it is up to the Queen who she invites, and if she wants to exclude Barnbrook or Griffin, then so be it - and it should be the advice of the Mayor and the London Assembly to encourage this.