tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post2009492934657775652..comments2024-03-28T21:25:08.138+13:00Comments on Bowalley Road: Occupy Queen Street? Not Yet.Chris Trotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-17561850973950175622011-10-13T07:32:22.515+13:002011-10-13T07:32:22.515+13:00Matt Taibbi?
LOL.
Government working hand in h...Matt Taibbi?<br /><br />LOL. <br /><br />Government working hand in hand with GS is free market and the Tea Parties that opposed TARP are evil. Good ole Matt Taibbi he is a switch. <br /><br />Check this out from The American Prospect.<br /><br />“Matt Taibbi has done it again—written a nightmare of a story for Rolling Stone on Obama’s economic sell-out of his campaign. The piece is a factual mess, a conspiracy theorist’s dream, doesn’t even indict Obama for his real failures”<br /><br />http://prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=12&year=2009&base_name=oh_matt_taibbi <br /><br />The Tea Parties are the real opposition to the 1% and their collusion with government. <br /><br />Wall Street ownership of the US government is not free market capitalism. <br /><br />Occupy Queen Street. It is on the cards down the track but if it occurs it will because of government stepping into the free market. Another dozen SCF bail outs will do it. But don’t forget were the fault is.Simonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-80812299963551612412011-10-11T12:31:52.280+13:002011-10-11T12:31:52.280+13:00Matt Taibbi! They're the first sensible words ...Matt Taibbi! They're the first sensible words you've said since, well I don't regularly read this so I wouldn't know.Kevin Skunkhttp://www.skunkpotatoes.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-50297375758795425252011-10-10T19:13:18.394+13:002011-10-10T19:13:18.394+13:00Well, Phil, if you're relying on Altucher'...Well, Phil, if you're relying on Altucher's "we're all guilty" line, then it's pretty clear you're not on the side God, Mom and Apple Pie. More like a devotee of the "Vampire Squid".Chris Trotterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-46052998373657361892011-10-10T18:33:32.466+13:002011-10-10T18:33:32.466+13:00If you still think the 1-Percenters are guiltless ...<i>If you still think the 1-Percenters are guiltless after that, then, by all means, get back to us.</i><br /><br />Nice try Chris. <br /><br />I didn't say a shadowy cabal of 1% of our wealthiest-and-most-baby-eating elite were blameless; just that the blame spreads a LOT wider.Philnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-92214607335102977402011-10-10T17:55:52.561+13:002011-10-10T17:55:52.561+13:00No, Julie, I wouldn't take my kids either.
Th...No, Julie, I wouldn't take my kids either.<br /><br />The whole thing is too hurried and ill-thought-out.<br /><br />If they'd applied to the City Council for permission to use Aotea Square - been refused by "The Edge" management, and then appealed to the Mayor for the right to peacefully assemble in "public space" - and been refused (albeit with lots of hand-ringing) again.<br /><br />Well, THEN, I believe they would have been able to count on a reasonably positive public response.<br /><br />As things now stand, they haven't a hope.Chris Trotterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-45970532930318491142011-10-10T16:47:11.047+13:002011-10-10T16:47:11.047+13:00A friend was involved in some of the plaza (piazza...A friend was involved in some of the plaza (piazza?) occupations in Spain. She was telling me that one of the key reasons those were effective was that they involved as active participants the vulnerable - namely children and the elderly. I don't feel like the Queen St version will be safe enough for me to take my children, which means I won't be going either. I will watch with interest though, and I do hope things go well. Police response will be pivotal.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08977150346842277994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-20923143250055866942011-10-10T14:47:52.413+13:002011-10-10T14:47:52.413+13:00Apparently "Since the election of the Nationa...Apparently "Since the election of the National Act Government, massive protests of Maori, workers and environmentalists have shaken this country with anger. When tens of thousands gather in the streets and put the National Party under heat, we get a taste of our power. <br /><br />Next week we have the chance to join a worldwide movement for democracy, justice and liberation. "<br /><br />Really? <br /><br />Tens of thousands? <br /><br />Or just Socialist Aotearoa's idiotic caricature of left politics.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-3795762771661639012011-10-10T13:49:20.324+13:002011-10-10T13:49:20.324+13:00Hey, Phil, try reading Matt Taibbi's books on ...Hey, Phil, try reading Matt Taibbi's books on the GFC. If you still think the 1-Percenters are guiltless after that, then, by all means, get back to us.Chris Trotterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-4709722452985185452011-10-10T12:29:36.142+13:002011-10-10T12:29:36.142+13:00Are the occupiers really "the 99%"?
No...Are the occupiers really "the 99%"? <br /><br />No, not even close.<br /><br />Regardless of the present intense dislike for banking in general (and lets be honest, this isn't even remotely a new phenomenom) I personally see that most people understand that what we're going through is an internation financial crisis that runs far, far deeper than some mythical 1% that caused all the problems. <br /><br />James Altucher has a good summary here:<br />http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/09/30/dear-occupy-wall-street-are-you-sure-youre-in-the-right-place/Philnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-15495419835232680582011-10-10T11:28:10.776+13:002011-10-10T11:28:10.776+13:00To: Anonymous@8:33
Hmmm, not so old, and not so m...To: Anonymous@8:33<br /><br />Hmmm, not so old, and not so much “afraid” of the Police as I am aware of the legally-sanctioned force they are empowered to unleash on citizens engaged in illegal actions (like obstructing a footpath or carriageway).<br /><br />Of course, the ability of the Police to exert their legally-sanctioned force against a protest demonstration is inversely proportional to the number of demonstrators involved in the protest. Moving-on 250 demonstrators is a much less daunting exercise in law enforcement than attempting to disperse 2,500. And 25,000 demonstrators can probably count themselves immune from police harassment (unless they’re Syrians).<br /><br />It would seem axiomatic, therefore, that any group attempting to “Occupy Queen Street” should pay a great deal of attention to maximising the number of people willing to participate. The more demonstrators on the scene, the less chance of seeing them moved-on by the authorities.<br /><br />One of the factors militating against the proposed occupation is that it involves breaking the law. Now breaking what is usually a relatively trivial law (like obstructing a carriageway) in the name of confronting a much greater evil (like Apartheid or your country’s participation in an illegal war) has a long and honourable history on the Left. But (there’s always a ‘but’) for people to engage in civil disobedience they must first be convinced that the “downside” of their unlawful activity: arrest, detention, trial, conviction, a criminal record; is, indeed, outweighed by the evil they are confronting.<br /><br />In other words, the ideological preparation for an “Occupy Queen Street” style protest is actually of much greater importance than the practical, logistical preparation. With just five days remaining until 15 October, I simply not convinced that enough people can be persuaded that New Zealand is in the grip of so great an “evil” - or that more than a few hundred, highly ideologically-motivated individuals will be willing to risk arrest and prosecution by attempting to “Occupy Queen Street” in the middle of the Rugby World Cup semi-finals.<br /><br />Confronting the Police as part of some testosterone-fuelled, ritual display of revolutionary machismo, forms no part of my definition of “building a better world”. On the contrary, one of the surest ways of knowing that revolutionary victory is near, is when the forces of state repression refuse to obey their superiors’ orders – and join the protest.Chris Trotterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-42664629905496589172011-10-10T00:22:07.540+13:002011-10-10T00:22:07.540+13:00And the Establisment strikes back: Martyn "Bo...And the Establisment strikes back: Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury is banned from Radio NZ.<br /><br />http://thestandard.org.nz/banned-for-criticising-key/#comment-383518<br /><br />http://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/<br /><br /><br />(With apologies if this comes across as spamming, Chris. I thought everyone should know that reactionary forces are becoming nastier with each passing day.)Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01692659460246506641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-41509470388803158492011-10-09T18:49:55.328+13:002011-10-09T18:49:55.328+13:00Chris is ignoring the large pockets of very real p...Chris is ignoring the large pockets of very real poverty in parts of New Zealand, but I think he's basically right about this Queen st adventure. Not enough people are pissed off yet and like it or not, the rugby is a bit of a factor. <br />The time of real mass fight back will certainly come though.<br />ps<br />Anon 8:33 is a pathetic agist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-3954340164736284502011-10-09T13:55:40.722+13:002011-10-09T13:55:40.722+13:00whilst in priciple Chris and I are diametrically o...whilst in priciple Chris and I are diametrically opposed politically I read avidly what is written and said.<br />Of recent times I more often have to say, like this article, I entirely agree.<br />I look forward to further insights and comments. Thank you.Cloacanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-22804203799739374932011-10-09T12:42:03.205+13:002011-10-09T12:42:03.205+13:00Christ
You wrote:
"The brutal truth of the ...Christ<br /><br />You wrote:<br /><br />"The brutal truth of the matter is that, in comparison to the Tunisians, Egyptians, Libyans, Syrians, Bahrainis and Yemenis, New Zealanders live in a blessed realm."<br /><br />You might also add America into that list. I just read the following:<br /><br />"The Teamsters represents the drivers at Hertz earning between $9.15 and $9.95 an hour. They receive no health benefits, vacation or sick leave."<br /><br />Perhaps those planning an occupation of Queen Street could carry placards along the lines of:<br /><br />"We don't know how lucky we are!"Brendan McNeillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02741263914308842497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-532039797732124272011-10-09T09:13:11.097+13:002011-10-09T09:13:11.097+13:00You're more than welcome to join us Chris, whe...You're more than welcome to join us Chris, whenever you feel the time has come.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-51654852858484284672011-10-09T08:33:27.757+13:002011-10-09T08:33:27.757+13:00Chris Trotter: An old man afraid of the police.Chris Trotter: An old man afraid of the police.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com