Abuse of women in New Zealand

Almost everyone agrees that we have appalling rates of domestic violence in New Zealand, and that women and children are nearly always the victims of this. (The same is probably true of most Western countries.) Yet when one reads “white”, supremacist literature, one might suppose that European men are knights in shining armor – with the exception of a few “bad apples”. In contrast, we are led to believe that all Muslim men beat their wives all the time, almost as a matter of religious routine. Little or no evidence is produced to support this claim, apart from lurid reports of “honor killings” in societies that are, one suspects, more tribal than truly Islamic.

The above cartoon is from the Manawatu Standard of June 30, 2009.

Peace not on the menu, says Israeli editor (2)

This is a continuation from http://luckykiwi.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/peace-not-on-the-menu-says-israeli-editor/

Peace not on the menu, says Israeli editor

The article below is from the March 3, 2008, edition of Challenge Weekly, New Zealand’s Christian newspaper. Note Aviel Schneider’s absurd analysis – “The nations hate Israel because they are jealous of God’s chosen people” – as well as his extreme pessimism. I apologise for the overlapping headlines, which had to be scrunched to make the article fit into my scanner.

Click here for Part 2.

‘Former jihadist’ warns New Zealand (2)

This is a continuation from http://luckykiwi.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/former-jihadist-warns-new-zealand/

‘Former jihadist’ warns New Zealand

The article below is the most amazing piece of alarmist nonsense I have read for a long time. It’s from the February 18, 2008, edition of Challenge Weekly, New Zealand’s Christian newspaper.

Slave markets in New Zealand? The mind boggles. Even for Challenge, which is notorious for its ignorance and superficial religiosity, this is stunning. Click here to read Part 2.

Unlucky day?

Listening to people talk these days, one might suppose the ONLY way in which one can become wealthy is by winning a lottery. But in reality, as I sometimes tell our young reporters, if you don’t drink, smoke, gamble, or go into debt, you will almost certainly save about $250,000 during the course of your career. (Cartoon from the Manawatu Standard, Palmerston North, New Zealand, June 24, 2009.)

Reva Bhalla on Iran

Reva Bhalla

Reva Bhalla of the private intelligence firm Stratfor says opposition protests (in Iran) have also withered because they failed to draw sufficient numbers of people from outside the young, educated urban elite.

“What you didn’t see was the addition of social groups,” said Reva Bhalla. “Where are the bazaari merchants? Where are the labor unions? Where are the more religiously conservative classes – you know, huge segments of the society? And you have to also remember that Ahmadinejad does have very legitimate support amongst many of these social groups. And to say that this is representative of the entire Iranian nation and that this is a mass revolution taking root simply isn’t accurate.”

From Voice of America News, June 25, 2009. voanews.com/english/2009-06-25-voa51.cfm

Pakeha have had it easy. . .

For background information, go to http://www.odt.co.nz/news/politics/61629/mixed-response-call-open-university-access-maori. (Pakeha: Maori term for European.) The cartoon is from the Manawatu Standard of June 19, 2009.

$9 million down the drain

The above cartoon is from the Manawatu Standard of June 18, 2009. $9 million is the cost of the national referendum on the question: “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?” Although the postal referendum doesn’t close until August 21, the Government has indicated it will ignore the result – partly because of the “loaded” nature of the question. So at a time of great economic hardship for many, we are literally pouring money down the drain.

See earlier post at http://luckykiwi.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/new-zealand-referendum-on-smacking/.

No peace in Israel, says ‘Messianic Jew’ (2)

This is Part 2 of the article at http://luckykiwi.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/no-peace-in-israel-says-messianic-jew/.