Thursday, March 17, 2005
There has been strong opposition to the government's suggestion that we need more "hate speech" laws in New Zealand. Maxim Institute told the Parliamentary enquiry today that there are already more than enough laws controlling what people can and can't say, and any more would be unjustified limitation on the rights of free thought, free expression, and freedom to practice religion.
But "hate speech" laws have not come out thin air. As the Everlasting Man blog points out, there is a pattern going on in New Zealand to limit freedom and bring in more censorship.
Meanwhile, the boundaries of acceptability are being pushed hard in the current round of film festival screenings. In particular, Nine Songs, shows 30 minutes of the sort of sex that was formerly only available from the "Adults only" section of your local video hire. It was passed as R18 by the censor on the grounds that it showed a "loving relationship". David Lane says the rating will allow it to be shown shortly in ordinary movie theatres. There is also concern that once a film gets main-stream cinema release, it will be available for screening on free-to-air TV. If anyone doesn't understand the slippery slope down which we are rapidly sliding, just take a look at the after-10pm offerings on our channels now.
How to lose your ability to counter evil: Melanie Phillips says, "... over the years, the judiciary has systematically destroyed the government’s ability to control this country’s borders and either prevent undesirables from coming in to the country or throw them out. Ministers had panicked because they refused to face up to the real cause of the crisis — the Human Rights Act. It was the judges’ interpretation of this Act which forbade the Government from deporting these foreign terror suspects, thus forcing it to lock them up instead. It was the judges who then used this Act to declare it unlawful to lock them up. And undoubtedly, these same judges will shortly be asked to rule under the same Act that the new control order restrictions are yet another breach of human rights. The root of the problem is human rights law and the arrogant and out-of-touch judges who interpret it. If these suspects are as dangerous as SIAC says, it is utterly ludicrous that we can’t deport them. No country has ever been expected to admit people who pose a threat to the life of the nation. Yet this Government refuses to admit the disaster of its own cherished human rights law and the urgent need to rethink the assumptions beneath it.
Busy UK parents are to get computer access to track their children's progress in school, as part of the government's education technology strategy. Information available could include test results, timetables and homework. The strategy was launched at Millfields Community School in Hackney, east London, where parents are already able to contact the school by e-mail.
An unexpected twist to the tragedy of tsunami survivors in Tamil Nadu is men and women asking for their sterilisations to be reversed. The state government announced this week that families who lost all of their children would be offered free reversals. A local NGO says that more than 600 women and 100 men were eager to take advantage of the offer. Couples whose daughters survived are not eligible, so some are using compensation payments for the death of sons to pay for the reversals. Couples are also turning to IVF clinics which guarantee a male child. ~ Washington Times, Mar 12, 2005 (article only available via subscription)
A range of papers from the World Congress of Families are now available. Many worth reading.
But "hate speech" laws have not come out thin air. As the Everlasting Man blog points out, there is a pattern going on in New Zealand to limit freedom and bring in more censorship.
Meanwhile, the boundaries of acceptability are being pushed hard in the current round of film festival screenings. In particular, Nine Songs, shows 30 minutes of the sort of sex that was formerly only available from the "Adults only" section of your local video hire. It was passed as R18 by the censor on the grounds that it showed a "loving relationship". David Lane says the rating will allow it to be shown shortly in ordinary movie theatres. There is also concern that once a film gets main-stream cinema release, it will be available for screening on free-to-air TV. If anyone doesn't understand the slippery slope down which we are rapidly sliding, just take a look at the after-10pm offerings on our channels now.
How to lose your ability to counter evil: Melanie Phillips says, "... over the years, the judiciary has systematically destroyed the government’s ability to control this country’s borders and either prevent undesirables from coming in to the country or throw them out. Ministers had panicked because they refused to face up to the real cause of the crisis — the Human Rights Act. It was the judges’ interpretation of this Act which forbade the Government from deporting these foreign terror suspects, thus forcing it to lock them up instead. It was the judges who then used this Act to declare it unlawful to lock them up. And undoubtedly, these same judges will shortly be asked to rule under the same Act that the new control order restrictions are yet another breach of human rights. The root of the problem is human rights law and the arrogant and out-of-touch judges who interpret it. If these suspects are as dangerous as SIAC says, it is utterly ludicrous that we can’t deport them. No country has ever been expected to admit people who pose a threat to the life of the nation. Yet this Government refuses to admit the disaster of its own cherished human rights law and the urgent need to rethink the assumptions beneath it.
Busy UK parents are to get computer access to track their children's progress in school, as part of the government's education technology strategy. Information available could include test results, timetables and homework. The strategy was launched at Millfields Community School in Hackney, east London, where parents are already able to contact the school by e-mail.
An unexpected twist to the tragedy of tsunami survivors in Tamil Nadu is men and women asking for their sterilisations to be reversed. The state government announced this week that families who lost all of their children would be offered free reversals. A local NGO says that more than 600 women and 100 men were eager to take advantage of the offer. Couples whose daughters survived are not eligible, so some are using compensation payments for the death of sons to pay for the reversals. Couples are also turning to IVF clinics which guarantee a male child. ~ Washington Times, Mar 12, 2005 (article only available via subscription)
A range of papers from the World Congress of Families are now available. Many worth reading.
